Odúbel Herrera stood Thursday afternoon in between third base and home, waiting to see in the ninth inning what the Marlins pitcher would do after fielding a ground ball.
An inning earlier, the Phillies blew another lead and seemed on their way to another tough loss. And then Herrera started the ninth inning of a 3-2 win by tripling to right field. But Alec Bohm struck out, and Ronald Torreyes chopped a soft grounder to the mound after Matt Joyce was intentionally walked.
So Herrera waited. Instead of looking at Herrera, Yimi Garcia threw to second base in an attempt to start an inning-ending double play. The Marlins got the out at second, but Torreyes sprinted through the bag to beat the throw at first. The Phillies blew a lead in the eighth, but they did not blow a rally in the ninth as Herrera scored.
They split the four-game series in Miami on Thursday behind two hits from Herrera, a homer from Rhys Hoskins, and three scoreless innings of relief from Ranger Suarez. The Phillies could have folded after Jose Alvarado allowed the tying run in the eighth and threw 31 pitches in a long inning. Instead, Herrera drove the sixth pitch he saw for a triple. He had to wait, but Herrera eventually scored.
Spencer Howard pitched into the fifth inning before he was removed after loading the bases without an out. Unlike his last start, Howard’s fastball velocity did not significantly decrease as he pitched deeper into the game. But his command became erratic after he eclipsed 50 pitches.
Howard retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced before allowing a leadoff single in the fifth and walking consecutive batters.
Suarez inherited Howard’s bases-loaded situation and ended the inning with just one run scored. He pitched three scoreless innings and has not allowed an earned run this season in 12 innings. The Phillies could opt to use the left-handed Suarez every fifth day to pair with Howard, who will remain on a strict pitch count the rest of the season.
