PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cesar Hernandez gave Philadelphia a fast start
http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-mike-montgomery-jersey , homering on the first pitch from Jose Urena. But the Phillies couldn’t sustain
it and missed a chance to move up in the playoff race.Peter O’Brien homered and
drove in three runs as the Miami Marlins blunted Philadelphia’s bid to draw
closer in the NL East with a 6-4 win Sunday.The Phillies remained 6 1/2 games
behind division-leading Atlanta, which lost to Washington, with two weeks
left.Nick Pivetta (7-13), who has won only one of his last 11 starts, struck out
seven in the first three innings. O’Brien’s two-run homer in the fourth inning
put the Marlins ahead for good at 2-1.“(Pivetta’s) stuff was electric early,”
Phillies manager Gabe Kapler said. “I think the only hard-hit ball that comes to
mind for me was the home run to O’Brien.“It looked like he was going to roll and
he ran into a little bit of a buzzsaw there.”Miami ended a five-game losing
streak. Bryan Holaday added a pair of doubles.Urena (7-12) allowed one run and
three hits through a five-inning stint for his third straight win. He left early
because of cramping in his pitching hand.Urena is 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA over his
last five starts dating to Aug. 19, when he was pitching under appeal of a
six-game suspension he’d incurred for hitting Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna with a
fastball. He later dropped the appeal
Ian Happ Jersey , and hasn’t lost since.The cramping, Urena said, was caused by throwing too many curveballs with a new grip he’s been using.“I will be
fine,” he said later. “It’s gone away. … I threw a couple of curveballs. I kept
(the hand) open then because if I squeeze it, it probably gets worse.”The
Marlins scored three times in the sixth against Luis Garcia for a 6-1 lead.With
runners at the corners and no outs, O’Brien hit a long fly to right field and
Odubel Herrera — more accustomed to playing in center — had the ball bounce out
of his glove before he smacked his head against the fence. The Phillies wound up
getting a forceout at second base as a run scored.Herrera left the game in the
seventh.Down 6-2, Philadelphia scored twice in the ninth
Jose Quintana Jersey , helped by a two-out error by second baseman Starlin Castro. Rhys Hoskins struck out with a runner on to end it.TRAINER’S
ROOMMarlins: Urena was pulled for precautionary reasons.Phillies: 3B Maikel
Franco missed his fourth straight start because of pain in his right shoulder.
He flipped over a rail and into a camera well last Tuesday.KLENTAK’S VIEWBefore
the game, Phillies GM Matt Klentak was asked if he thought several veteran
acquisitions he made before and after the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline
could have worked against clubhouse chemistry down the Phillies’ sad
stretch.“Whatever it is that caused us to go into a team-wide slump in August is
not limited to one factor,” he said. “It’s probably some kind of combination of
a lot of things. I will not sit here and tell you the chemistry changed in such
a way that that is the reason we struggled. I don’t believe that,” he said.UP
NEXTMarlins: Begin a two-game home set against the Washington Nationals on
Monday. They will send RHP Trevor Richards (3-9, 4.85) against RHP Erick Fedde
(2-3, 5.12) in the series opener.Phillies: A three-game home series against the
Mets starts Monday with RHP Jake Arrieta (10-9, 3.66) facing RHP Zack Wheeler
(11-7
http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-yu-darvish-jersey , 3.23). ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves didn’t have to face David Price during a May
series in Boston and now they’ll miss the Red Sox left-hander again just when he
has been pitching his best baseball of the season.Price was on schedule to start
the opener of the three-game interleague series between the Red Sox and the
Braves on Monday, but he was hit on the left wrist by a line drive in the third
inning against Miami last week.Although Price said afterward that he hoped he
wouldn’t miss a start and didn’t want to, the Red Sox decided to be safe rather
than sorry.Article continues below ...Right-hander Nathan Eovaldi will start in
Price’s place at SunTrust Park, with the Braves calling on right-hander Touki
Toussaint for his second major league appearance.The Braves plan to go with a
six-man rotation the final month of the regular season as they try to hold off
Philadelphia in the National League East. Toussaint was promoted from Triple-A
on Saturday when rosters could expand.Atlanta’s lead is back to four games after
the Braves (76-60) took two of three from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a weekend
series while the Phillies were losing two of three to the Chicago Cubs.Eovaldi
didn’t allow a run in 15 innings of his first two starts after being acquired
from Tampa Bay, but he has struggled since. He is 2-3 with a 4.50 ERA in seven
starts for the Red Sox The last one on Friday was limited to two innings because
of rain. He has surrendered 13 runs in his past three games.Eovaldi is 2-3 with
a 2.82 ERA in 13 career starts against Atlanta and is 2-1 with a 2.06 ERA in six
interleague starts for the Rays and Red Sox this season.Price will throw off the
mound while the Red Sox are in Atlanta and could start against Houston next
weekend in Boston.“It should be Houston or the next series,” Boston manger Joey
Cora said on Sunday before the Red Sox concluded a series against the White Sox
in Chicago. “We’re not worried. He’s in good spirits. He should be
fine.”Toussaint made an impressive debut on Aug. 13 in a spot start, limiting
Miami to two hits and a run in six innings. He struck out four and walked
two.“Very excited to see him again
Paul Konerko Jersey ,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “When he left here, he continued to pitch really, really good. He’s had some kind of year and
come a long way.”The 22-year-old made eight starts for Triple-A Gwinnett after
starting the season in Double-A and was 5-0 with a 1.43 ERA. He struck out 56
and walked 17 in 50 1/3 innings.Facing the Red Sox, who have the best record in
the majors at 94-44 and a 7 1/2-game lead in the American League, will be a step
up for Toussaint after facing the Marlins in his debut.“You dream of this as a
little kid,” he said. “You want to be in the World Series pitching against the
best.”The Red Sox took two of the three games against the Braves in Boston. The
Red Sox are 11-3 in interleague games and the Braves are 8-9.
