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 Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich drove in the go-ahead run
in the seventh and relief pitchers Bryan Morris, A.J. Ramos and
Steve Cishek held back the Texas Rangers for the final three innings
as Miami claimed an 8-5 victory Tuesday night at Globe Life Park.
Miami's 13 consecutive wins in interleague play broke a tie with the
St. Louis Cardinals for the National League record.
"It's awesome, I guess," said Yelich, who went 4-for-6 and drove in
four runs. "We've got to try and keep it rolling tomorrow. I'm not
going to try and explain why we have so many wins against American
League teams. I guess we like playing against them."
Miami made life rough on Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor on its
way to taking back the lead in the top of the seventh. With Texas
leading 5-4, Odor could not flag down a hot grounder by designated
hitter Justin Bour and then did not come up with a grounder up the
middle by catcher Jeff Mathis. Bour's was scored a hit, while Odor
took an error on the Mathis grounder.
The Marlins cashed in those two plays when Yelich hit a line drive
that deflected off the glove of Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre
and into left field. Yelich's hit scored Bour and Mathis to put
Miami back in front.
"I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit and do something
with," Yelich said. "It was kind of a battle and one that I'm glad
went our way."
The error on Odor followed a trend of sloppy play in the field by
the Rangers, who committed three errors and gave up three unearned
runs.
"Just being human, physical mistakes," Texas manager Ron Washington
said, explaining the miscues. "They're out there playing and trying
to do the very best they can and sometimes things just don't work.
Just got to keep battling until we get it right."
Texas had rallied to take the lead in the bottom of the sixth as it
needed just two hits to score four runs and overtake the Marlins.
Rangers left fielder Shin-Soo Choo started the rally by getting hit
by a pitch, and Beltre followed with a single to left. Marlins
starter Tom Koehler then gave up back-to-back walks. Rangers first
baseman Brad Snyder's bases-loaded walk brought Choo home from
third. Texas catcher Robinson Chirinos hit a sacrifice fly to right
to score Beltre, cutting Miami's lead to 4-3.
Dan Jennings relieved Koehler, but didn't do much to slow down the
Rangers' rally. Jennings' wild pitch allowed Texas right fielder
Alex Rios to score from third to tie it at 4. Then Odor beat out a
grounder for an infield single, scoring Snyder from second.
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Earlier, the Marlins had taken a two-run lead in the top of the
fourth when Yelich doubled over the head of Rangers center fielder
Leonys Martin. Yelich's hit landed on the warning track, driving in
Bour and Mathis.
It appeared the Rangers had a chance to get Mathis at home, but
Odor's throw to the plate was cut off by Snyder, who was playing in
his first game with the Rangers after being called up from Triple-A
Round Rock.
"Once again, inexperience," Washington said. "I think he cut a ball
off when we had a guy at the plate. We told him when he came in,
when you're in the cutoff position your head has to be on a swivel
with people on the base paths. That'll happen again in this game and
he'll do the right thing."
Texas put the first run on the board in the bottom of the second
when Rios, who singled to center, scored on a sacrifice fly by
Chirinos.
Miami answered with a run in the top of the third. Right fielder
Giancarlo Stanton hit a line-drive double off the wall in left and
scored on a groundout by first baseman Garrett Jones.
NOTES: The Marlins have an 8-0 record in interleague play this
season. Miami swept a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners
and a four-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays. ... Overall, Miami
is riding a streak of 13 consecutive interleague wins, setting a new
National League record. The St. Louis Cardinals won 12 straight
interleague games in 2004-2005. ... By placing 1B Mitch Moreland on
the disabled list Tuesday, the Rangers matched their total DL uses
(19) for the entire 2013 season. Texas leads the majors in DL uses
(19) and current players on the DL (13).
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