PHILADELPHIA — Magneuris Sierra should be credited with giving the Miami Marlins two wins on Wednesday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The first win, which he is responsible for single-handedly, won’t count. It came in the minutes leading up to the game, when he out-dueled the Phillies’ Ronald Torreyes in a pregame standoff following the national anthem.
The second, in which he served as a catalyst, came when he led off the fifth inning with a pinch-hit single with the Marlins trailing the Phillies by three runs. It started a six-run outburst as Miami rallied for a 11-6 win at Citizens Bank Park.
Miami (34-45) had six consecutive two-out hits in the frame — RBI singles by Garrett Cooper, Adam Duvall, Miguel Rojas, Jesus Sanchez and Joe Panik and an RBI double from Sandy Leon as thunder clapped in the background — following Sierra’s bloop hit that fell just beyond the second base bag that Nick Maton and Jean Segura failed to field.
Panik and Duvall also had solo home runs earlier in the game, which was delayed for 38 minutes three pitches into the bottom of the fifth due to brief but heavy rain. Duvall had three hits and was a triple shy of hitting the first cycle in Marlins franchise history.
Wednesday was the seventh time this season the Marlins have scored at least 10 runs in a game.
Relief pitcher Zach Pop earned the first win of his MLB career. Steven Okert, playing in his first MLB game since 2018, threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings following the delay. Starter Jordan Holloway was pulled after walking consecutive batters to lead off the fourth. Holloway was charged with five runs on four hits and five walks while striking out five in his first MLB appearance since going on the injured list on May 22.
The win unfolded after Sierra’s individual victory to begin the night.
The national anthem had been sung, and a baseball game between the Marlins and Phillies (37-41) was minutes away from beginning.
But in the time between, nearly 10 minutes worth, two players — one from each team — held their ground in a pre-game standoff.
For the Marlins: backup outfielder Sierra.
For the Phillies: backup infielder Torreyes.
The two kept the standoff going right up to first pitch, through the Phillies taking the field, Aaron Nola tossing his warm-up pitches and Jazz Chisholm Jr. stepping into the box.
In the end, Sierra came away with the win, Torreyes taking the first step back to his dugout after home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi directed the players to make their way off the field so the game could begin.
“We’ve got a winner,” Paul Severino, Bally Sports Florida play-by-play announcer for the Marlins, bellowed on the broadcast. “Mags wins.”
Sierra, who was greeted with smiles and high fives from his teammates after his victory, won despite the occasional heckle from the crowd and direct tampering from the Phillie Phanatic, the Phillies’ team mascot.
Midway through the standoff, the Phanatic drove over to Sierra, tapping the player’s backside (“Woah. Hey. Look out now, Phillie Phanatic,” Severino said. “Come on now. We can’t be having that. This is a family program.”) before dancing in an attempt to get Sierra to budge. Sierra laughed, but he didn’t move.
He did, however, have support from his teammates. Chisholm walked up to the Phanatic with a bat, jokingly gesturing that he would take a swing if the mascot didn’t back down.
Three minutes later, Sierra became the victor.
