The Sports Xchange
May 28, 2017
MIAMI -- In a game marred by an injury to Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton and JT Riddle homered to lead the Miami Marlins to a 9-2 win on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park.
Trout, a two-time American League MVP who leads the majors with 16 homers, sprained his left thumb in the fifth inning while stealing second base. He left the game in the middle of the sixth, and the Angels said X-rays showed no fracture.
Stanton's homer was his 13th of the season -- two short of the National League lead -- and his second in this series. The homer by Riddle was a two-run shot that snapped a 2-2 tie. Riddle also doubled and had three RBIs.
For the Marlins (18-30), it was their first series win since they took two of three at the San Diego Padres on April 21-23. The Angels (26-27) have lost four of their past five games.
Jose Urena (3-2) picked up his first home win of the season, allowing two runs in five innings. He struck out seven and walked six -- both career highs.
Matt Shoemaker (4-3) had his three-game win streak snapped, allowing seven hits and four runs in 4 2/3 innings.
Shoemaker gave up Stanton's homer in the first before settling down, at least initially.
Trout had a chance to do some damage with two outs in the third inning. However, he grounded out with the bases loaded.
After a walk to Kole Calhoun, Martin Maldonado gave the Angels a 2-1 lead in the fourth with a long two-run homer to left. It was Maldonado's fourth homer of the season and his second in this series.
Urena walked four batters in the fourth but escaped further damage when Andrelton Simmons hit a two-out liner to Marcell Ozuna.
Derek Dietrich started Miami's three-run, fifth-inning rally with a leadoff double to right-center field. He advanced to third on Christian Colon's sacrifice fly and scored when pinch-hitter Ichiro Suzuki pulled a single over a drawn-in infield.
Riddle, a rookie playing in just his 25th big-league game, drilled the next pitch over the fence in right to give Miami a 4-2 lead.
Miami padded its lead to 6-2 in the sixth. The Marlins' first two batters in the inning got on base as J.T. Realmuto doubled and Colon walked. Miami cashed in with pinch-hitter Tyler Moore's sacrifice fly and an an RBI double by Riddle.
The Marlins scored three more runs in the eighth, and the highlights included Christian Yelich's RBI walk and Ozuna's run-scoring single.
NOTES: Marlins 2B Dee Gordon, who walked as a pinch hitter, is hitting .452 in the past eight games. ... Marlins LHP Jeff Locke, who has a 1.77 ERA in four rehab starts, could be activated this week. He has missed the entire season so far with biceps tendinitis. ... The Angels rested 1B Albert Pujols, who has a sore hamstring and is three homers short of 600 for his career. ... Up next, the Angels return home on Monday night to face the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins continue their homestand on Monday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.