Tyler Phillips pitched five scoreless innings as the Miami Marlins won their fifth straight game, defeating the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks 2-0 on Thursday afternoon.
The Marlins have won eight of their past nine games, and this was Miami’s fourth sweep of the season.
It was also Miami’s 23rd home win of the season – the most in the National League at 23-16.
Phillips (1-1) allowed just two hits and two walks, lowering his ERA to 1.86. Since joining the Marlins at the start of last season, it was his 73rd appearance but just his fourth start. It was also tied for his longest outing since joining Miami.
Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez – who leads the majors with a .344 batting average – went 2-for-4. He leads the league with 29 multi-hit games, and he added two steals on Thursday.
Miami’s bullpen – Michael Petersen; Anthony Bender; Calvin Faucher and Pete Fairbanks – combined for four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. Fairbanks got the save, his eighth of the year.
Arizona is just 3-10 over its past 13 games. The Diamondbacks have been shut out in two consecutive games, putting up a total of just nine hits in that span.
In the series, Arizona went 2-for-30 with runners in scoring position.
Merrill Kelly (5-5) pitched a quality start but took the loss, allowing two runs, four hits and two walks in six innings.
Miami scored just one run in the first inning despite putting together two singles, a balk due to disengagement, a walk, a steal and a sacrifice fly. Leadoff batter Liam Hicks singled and was thrown out at third on Lopez’s single as right fielder Corbin Carroll unleashed a strong one-hop throw.
The Marlins may not have scored in that inning at all because Lopez was originally called out trying to steal third. But the call was reversed on review, and Lopez scored on the next pitch as Xavier Edwards lofted a sacrifice fly.
Miami made it 2-0 in the fourth as Kyle Stowers walked, advanced on Edwards’ single and scored on a two-out single by Jakob Marsee on a 3-2 pitch that was high and out of the zone.
Arizona threatened in the seventh as LuJames Groover singled and went to third with one out on an error by first baseman Stowers on a failed pickoff. But Bender got out of the jam with two strikeouts.
