MARLINS 5, GIANTS 4
MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez's comeback required a comeback.
The right-hander shook off a rocky start in his return from Tommy John surgery, pitching six innings and hitting a home run Thursday to help the Miami Marlins rally past the San Francisco Giants 5-4 and complete a three-game sweep.
The first two batters to face Fernandez scored. He screamed at himself as he walked off the mound to end the first inning.
Fernandez (1-0) found the form that made him the 2013 National League Rookie of the Year after that. Pitching in the majors for the first time since May 9, 2014, he allowed seven hits and three runs.
"I would have loved to have pitched a little better," he said. "But it's exciting I got the first one out of the way and we got a win."
Fernandez showed he had a flair for the dramatic, hitting his second career home run to start the fifth inning and helping Miami erase a 3-1 deficit.
"He thinks he's a hitter first," Manager Dan Jennings said.
Justin Bour's three-run home run later in the inning put the Marlins ahead to stay less than 24 hours after he hit a walk-off home run to cap a come-from-behind victory. The sweep was the first in a series of at least three games for Miami at home against the Giants since 1999.
Fernandez outpitched Matt Cain (0-1), who also was making his 2015 debut. Cain, sidelined last July by an elbow injury that required surgery, allowed five runs in five innings.
"It was probably one of the better days I've had feeling-wise, which is really a big positive," Cain said. "It's just now ironing it out and making good pitches."
Gregor Blanco hit a home run against Fernandez, and Buster Posey added another for the Giants.
Fernandez's hit and earned run totals were the highest for any of his 21 starts at Marlins Park. He improved to 13-0 at home, tying the modern record (since 1914) for home starts without a loss to begin a career, set by the Montreal Expos' David Palmer in 1979-84, according to STATS.
Fernandez topped out at 99 mph, and his final pitch was clocked at 97. His command was excellent, too -- six strikeouts, no walks and 68 of 89 pitches for strikes.
"He had his normal stuff, it looked like," Giants Manager Bruce Bochy said. "You don't expect to score a lot of runs off him. He looks healthy."
The crowd of 32,598 roared with every strike. Thanks to a giveaway promotion, Marlins fans were armed with masks of their ace's face.
He opened with a 94 mph fastball for a called strike, but the inning went downhill from there. Blanco singled and took third on a double by Joe Panik. Posey hit a sacrifice fly, and Brandon Belt's two-out bloop single scored another run.
"Jose was trying to be too fine, too perfect," Jennings said. "In the second inning he settled down."
Fernandez ended the fifth at 81 pitches, but Jennings let him bat to start the bottom of the inning. The .203 career hitter made the decision pay off with a home run than earned him a curtain call.
CUBS 6, METS 1 Jonathan Herrera filled in neatly for Kris Bryant, driving in three runs with a squeeze bunt and a home run that sent Jake Arrieta and visiting Chicago past New York for a three-game sweep. Arrieta (8-5) pitched eight sharp innings, helping extend the Cubs' shutout string to 25 innings before the Mets managed their only run of this series.
BRAVES 2, NATIONALS 1 Cameron Maybin drove in the go-ahead run with a chopper against Max Scherzer that bounced over third base in the ninth inning, lifting host Atlanta to a victory over Washington. Scherzer (9-6) allowed 5 hits and struck out 9 in his third complete game in his last 4 starts.
BREWERS 8, PHILLIES 7 (11) Adam Lind hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the 11th inning to help visiting Milwaukee beat Philadelphia to complete a four-game sweep.
PADRES 5, CARDINALS 3 (11) Will Venable hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the top of the 11th inning and San Diego got a victory over host St. Louis.
DIAMONDBACKS 8, ROCKIES 1 David Peralta had a tiebreaking, two-run triple with two outs in the sixth inning for Arizona, helping Jeremy Hellickson to his fourth consecutive victory at home, this one over visiting Colorado.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
INDIANS 5, RAYS 4 (10) Mike Aviles hit a home run on the first pitch of the 10th inning, giving Cleveland a victory and a four-game sweep of host Tampa Bay. Corey Kluber struck out 14 over eight innings. Brian Shaw (1-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the victory, and Cody Allen struck out the side in the 10th to earn his 15th save in 16 opportunities.
RANGERS 2, ORIOLES 0 Leonys Martin ended a scoreless duel with an RBI single in the ninth inning, and Texas beat host Baltimore behind a dominant pitching performance by Yovani Gallardo and three relievers. Gallardo gave up 2 hits and 3 walks over 6 innings to extend his run of shutout innings to 29 1/3 -- the longest streak in the majors this year.
RED SOX 12, BLUE JAYS 6 David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez had consecutive home runs in an eight-run first inning, Xander Bogaerts had four hits and Boston beat host Toronto. Brock Holt also had four hits and Bogaerts drove in two runs as the Red Sox took three of four from Toronto.
TWINS 2, ROYALS 0 Kyle Gibson threw eight innings of four-hit ball, Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar had RBI triples, and visiting Minnesota beat Kansas City.
ATHLETICS 4, MARINERS 0 Scott Kazmir pitched eight innings, Marcus Semien homered for the first time in nearly two months, and host Oakland beat Seattle.
INTERLEAGUE
PIRATES 8, TIGERS 4 Pittsburgh's Francisco Liriano pitched seven shutout innings in a rare victory over host Detroit and a three-game sweep. Liriano (5-6) came into the game with a 1-9 record in his last 14 games against Detroit, including 11 starts. He allowed five hits and three walks in his first victory over the Tigers since August 15, 2011.
Sports on 07/03/2015