MIAMI — Griffin Conine crushed a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the eighth inning to cap an 8-6 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Phillies at loanDepot park, completing Miami’s first sweep of Philadelphia since 2019 — days after the Marlins snapped a franchise-record 12-game losing streak.
The Marlins became just the third team since 1990 to sweep a series after entering it on a single-season losing streak of at least 12 games, joining the 2012 Cubs and 1994 Brewers. Conine’s blast, a Statcast-projected 424 feet to center field off an 88.9 mph changeup from Jonathan Bowlan, erased a six-run deficit Miami faced through five innings.
“It’s vintage Marlins,” Conine said. “More of what we’re all about – fighting up and down the lineup, and guys starting to swing it more just individually, coming out of slumps. That’s the way baseball goes: There’s ups and downs as hitters and pitchers. It’s good to see the offense coming together.”
Conine, whose father Jeff — a Marlins legend — was in attendance, is slashing .300/.349/.700 with 12 hits and five home runs over his last 15 games. He entered the at-bat pinch-hitting for Brian Navarreto after Kyle Stowers worked a leadoff walk. Conine said he anticipated an off-speed pitch after taking a 96.1 mph four-seam fastball on the first offering.
“I know [Bowlan] throws a lot of heaters,” Conine said. “The way I’ve been pitched lately, I am not seeing a lot of those. … I was probably leaning a little more on either changeup or slider error, so something I wanted to start up.”
The rally began in the fifth inning against former Marlin Jesús Luzardo, who entered the game 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in his last four starts against his former club. Esteury Ruiz doubled to lead off the frame and later scored on an Otto Lopez groundout. Heriberto Hernández then launched a Statcast-projected 416-foot, two-run shot to left-center field — his 16th of the season — to cut the deficit in half. In the seventh, Xavier Edwards lined a two-run single to left field, scoring Jakob Marsee and Lopez to tie the game at 6.
“I could just say the margins are super small here to win at this level,” Edwards said. “It takes some gutty wins. It takes some games where you come back. It takes some games where you know hold the lead from the beginning … just shows our ability to be able to win different ways.”
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the comeback marked the seventh time in franchise history that the Marlins erased a deficit of at least six runs to defeat a National League East opponent. The previous occurrence also came against the Phillies on Aug. 23, 2019, when Miami rallied from a seven-run deficit. The sweep was also the Marlins’ first home sweep over the Phillies since May 29-31, 2017.
“To just chip ourselves back into the game … it just speaks to how this group was able to handle and ride out a really tough stretch,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “Turn things around and never stop.”
McCullough called the win one of the more impressive of the season but kept his focus forward. “It’s great we had these three days but tomorrow’s game is going to be our most important one,” he said.