PITTSBURGH — — Joey Wendle had three hits and two RBI, Braxton Garrett pitched six sharp innings and the Miami Marlins emphatically ended their 37-inning scoreless streak by beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-1 on Friday night.
The Marlins were shut out by Philadelphia in three straight games last weekend at home leading up to the All-Star break. The 37-inning drought tied the franchise record set in 2013.
Shortstop Miguel Rojas said the Marlins drew inspiration from, of all people, Celine Dion and her hit song “My Heart Will Go On” from the movie “Titanic.” The team played the song in the clubhouse before the game and then again after.
“You’ve got to put things in perspective. It can always be worse,” Rojas said. “If I’m fighting for my life in that boat, that’s a lot worse than not scoring a run for 37 innings. I feel that’s the mentality we took into the game.”
Avisail Garcia stopped Miami’s nine-game streak without a home run, which was one short of the club record, with a solo shot in the eighth that capped the scoring.
Garrett (2-3), a rookie left-hander, beat the Pirates for the second time in eight days by pitching one-run ball and allowing two hits. He struck out seven and walked one.
Garrett threw 28 pitches in the first inning before settling in.
“I knew that was a long inning for me, but I just told myself to try to get five or six innings and everyone on the team would be happy,” Garrett said.
In his last outing, Garrett pitched six shutout innings with 11 strikeouts.
Rookie catcher Nick Fortes drove in three runs. Garcia, Rojas and Jesus Aguilar each had two of the Marlins’ 13 hits.
“It was a collective struggle for us, so to get everybody in on the action tonight was pretty awesome,” Fortes said. “Now hopefully we can roll with it and everybody can kind of find their stride.”
Zach Thompson (3-7) was tagged for seven runs in 5 1/3 innings against his former team. He was part of an offseason trade that sent Gold Glove catcher Jacob Stallings from the Pirates to the Marlins.
“I didn’t think Zach was very sharp,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “I thought the cutter was the only pitch that he had going. He left some breaking balls up, and when you leave breaking balls up … they took advantage of that.”
Rookie catcher Jason Delay’s first career homer accounted for the Pirates’ lone run, coming in the third inning. Marlins pitchers then set down Pittsburgh’s last 21 batters as Steven Okert, Dylan Floro and Anthony Bass each worked one perfect relief inning.
The Pirates’ only other hit was a single by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the first.
Rojas snapped the Marlins’ scoring drought by doubling in the first run in a four-run fourth inning that put Miami ahead 4-1. After runs scored on a wild pitch and groundout by Fortes, Wendle capped the outburst with an RBI single.
“Our guys were relieved when we got that first run across, you could feel it,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “(The drought) is the type of thing that grows and builds and you just want to get it behind you any way you can.”
The Marlins pushed the lead to 7-1 with a three-run seventh. Fortes hit a two-run double and scored on a single by Wendle.
PIRATES TRADE VOGELBACH
The Pirates traded designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach to the New York Mets for rookie reliever Colin Holderman.
Holderman was 4-0 with a 2.04 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15 relief appearances covering 17 2/3 innings after making his major league debut May 15. Opponents were batting .186.
“We’re really excited to work with him,” Pirates GM Ben Cherington said. “He’s already had some success in the major league and he’s someone who will come in and be part of our pitching staff now.”
Vogelbach was hitting .228 with 12 home runs, 34 RBI and a .769 OPS in 75 games. He led the Pirates in RBI.
INJURY REPORT
Marlins: All-Star 2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. likely will be out through the end of August after tests revealed he has a stress reaction in his lower back. He is expected to miss six more weeks after having been on the injured list since June 29 with what was called a right lower back strain. … LF Jorge Soler was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning after feeling back pain … RHP Cody Poteet (right elbow inflammation) was placed on the 15-day IL and RHP Jordan Holloway was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville.
Pirates: OF Greg Allen (strained left hamstring) was activated after spending the entire season on the 60-day IL. C Michael Perez was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot. … CF Bryan Reynolds (strained right oblique) has started taking batting practice.
UP NEXT
Marlins: RHP Max Meyer (0-1, 8.44) will make his second career start Saturday night. He debuted last Saturday against Philadelphia at Miami.
Pirates: LHP Jose Quintana (2-5, 3.99) has a 2/3 record with a 3.02 ERA in 10 starts at home this season.
