Rookie Nick Fortes lofted a 409-foot, go-ahead, two-run homer in the fourth inning, leading the host Miami Marlins to a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday afternoon.
It was the season finale for both teams.
Miami (67-95) finished in fourth place, just ahead of the last-place Washington Nationals in the National League East. The Marlins finished with a winning home record (42-39).
Philadelphia (82-80) finished second in the NL East. However, the Phillies lost six of their last seven games, failing to catch the division-winning Atlanta Braves.
The Phillies finished with a 35-46 road record.
Marlins starter Pablo Lopez, who had been out since July 11 due to a rotator-cuff injury, lasted 1 2/3 innings, allowing four hits, one walk and one run. He struck out four, throwing 29 strikes among his 42 pitches.
Phillies reliever Seranthony Dominguez, who is recovered from elbow surgery, made his first MLB appearance since June 5, 2019. He tossed one scoreless inning, retiring all three Marlins batters he faced.
Reliever Hector Neris (4-7) took the loss, allowing two runs in 1 2/3 innings.
Zach Thompson (3-7) earned the win with one scoreless inning in relief.
Miami started the game with three hits. After a Brian Miller single, Eddy Alvarez stroked an RBI triple. Jazz Chisholm followed with a run-scoring single.
Philadelphia cut its deficit to 2-1 in the second as Freddy Galvis clubbed a 96-mph Lopez fastball for his 14th homer of the season.
Miami extended its lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the second as Fortes scored on reliever Steven Okert’s double-play grounder.
Philadelphia tied the score 3-3 in the third as Bryce Harper walked, and Andrew McCutchen hit a two-out homer on a 0-2 changeup from Okert. The blast was McCutchen’s 27th of the season.
Miami surged ahead 5-3 in the fourth as Deven Marrero walked and Fortes slugged his two-run homer off Neris’ 94-mph fastball. Fortes had four homers this season.
The Phillies cut their deficit to 5-4 in the eighth. Travis Jankowski singled, stole second base and scored on Brad Miller’s single to left.
–Field Level Media
