DETROIT _ Garrett Cooper was excited Wednesday to send his first major league home run ball to his parents after helping the Miami Marlins beat the Detroit Tigers.
It might have some company on his parents' mantle.
With the Marlins down to their final out Thursday, Cooper belted his first career grand slam over the left-field fence at Comerica Park to turn a one-run deficit into a 5-2 win in Detroit. The grand slam, which came a day after the outfielder hit his first career homer, completed a three-game sweep of the Tigers and extended Miami's season-best winning streak to six games, the club's longest since 2016.
Cooper's slam capped a five-run ninth inning after eight mostly lifeless frames for the Marlins offense. Miami (16-31) had some opportunities all afternoon in front of 17,214 in Michigan. Unlike during the first five games of the streak, the Marlins mostly wasted them.
In the third inning, catcher Jorge Alfaro and infielder Miguel Rojas each notched one-out singles before back-to-back flyouts ended the inning. In the fourth, Miami loaded the bases with one out after the Tigers (17-29) blew a double play, but utility man Neil Walker and Alfaro both struck out to end the inning. A one-out double by outfielder Austin Dean in the fifth gave the Marlins a runner in scoring position once again and again they failed to capitalize.
Trevor Richards kept them within striking distance. The starting pitcher went 5 2/3 innings and allowed just one earned run despite coughing up eight hits. Like usual, the right-handed pitcher leaned on his changeup. Five of his six strikeouts came by way of his signature pitch, and the righty got eight of his 13 swinging strikes with its wicked off-speed movement.
With Richards' effort, Miami trailed just 2-0 heading to the ninth inning and, finally, the Marlins caught a break. Outfielder Harold Ramirez reached on an error to start the frame and utility man Neil Walker knocked him home from second with a single to center. Relief pitcher Shane Greene issued a one-out walk to Alfaro and the Tigers came together for a mound visit.
Greene (0-2) nearly ended the game there. Rojas chopped a grounder to second base, where Ronny Rodriguez couldn't field it cleanly. The infielder got the out at second, but a bang-bang play at first was ruled in Miami's favor and upheld after Detroit challenged. After Rojas stole second, Greene intentionally walked Granderson to load the bases and bring up Cooper for his game-winning swing.
