Dodgers 6, Marlins 4
MIAMI -- Yasel Puig came off the bench to snap his 0-for-17 skid with a tiebreaking solo homer in the eighth inning, leading the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-4 win over the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night at Marlins Park.
The Dodgers snapped a two-game losing streak, their longest since June 21. They had gone 42-8 before their mini-skid began.
Puig's home run -- the 12th of his amazing rookie season -- came on the first pitch he saw all night, a low fastball by reliever Dan Jennings (2-4). The ball barely cleared the wall -- it clanked the top of the fence -- and Puig sped around the bases before getting repeatedly slapped on his helmet by giddy teammates in the Dodgers' dugout.
Hanley Ramirez doubled in the ninth to snap an 0-for-18 hitless streak against his former team. He came around to score on Tim Federowicz's infield single to give L.A. extra cushion.
The Dodgers' bullpen did the rest, led by Kenley Jansen, who posted his 20th save and 13th in a row; Chris Withrow (2-0), who got the win; and Miami native Paco Rodriguez, who picked up a strikeout in the eighth.
Both starting pitchers -- the Marlins' Jacob Turner and the Dodgers' Chris Capuano -- left with no-decisions. Capuano was pitching one day after his 35th birthday.
The Marlins got off to a good start, scoring a run in the first inning when Christian Yelich smacked an opposite-field double to left, advanced on Donovan Solano's sacrifice bunt and scored on Giancarlo Stanton's groundout.
Turner, who used a double play to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard in the second inning despite having fallen into a first-and-third, no-out predicament, got into another jam in the fourth.
After the Dodgers led off the inning with two singles, Turner induced another double-play ball. The Marlins then intentionally walked Federowicz to get to Capuano. But the plan backfired when Capuano drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases.
The Dodgers cashed in with three straight run-scoring singles -- Carl Crawford's comebacker that bounced off Turner's glove, Mark Ellis' infield hit that scored two when shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria's desperation throw eluded first baseman Logan Morrison, and Adrian Gonzalez's grounder that somehow found its way to right field.
Miami scored twice in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs before Justin Ruggiano produced an RBI groundout and Hechavarria drilled a run-scoring single.
The Marlins tied the score 4-4 in the sixth when Ruggiano singled, advanced to second on an Hechavarria walk and scored on Jeff Mathis' single. The Marlins left the bases loaded when Solano struck out swinging against reliever Chris Withrow.
NOTES: Puig was rested and did not start, although he entered the game in the sixth inning. This was one day after his much-hyped Miami debut. According to TMZ, Puig, who has a home in Miami, was out late Sunday night at a South Beach club with teammates Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp and Miami Heat star LeBron James. They reportedly ran up a $20,000 tab. Then, on Monday night, Puig went 0-for-5. ... Lost in the Puig shuffle on Monday night was the return to Miami of Ramirez, who he was loudly booed each time up. ... Marlins CF Jake Marisnick was benched for the second time in three games, giving way to a hotter Ruggiano. Marisnick, a rookie, has one hit in his past nine at-bats and is hitting just .193 for the season. ... In this four-game series that ends Thursday, the Marlins will avoid facing RHP Ricky Nolasco, who started the season in Miami. But the Marlins will face two very tough pitchers the next two days -- Zack Greinke and Cy Young-front-runner Clayton Kershaw. The Marlins will counter with former Dodger Nathan Eovaldi, who is coming off the worst start of his career (11 runs vs. the San Francisco Giants), and Henderson Alvarez.
