DENVER – The Colorado Rockies’ pitchers had trouble finding the strike zone. When they did, the Miami Marlins made them pay.
Marcell Ozuna hit a grand slam for his third homer in as many games, Giancarlo Stanton had three hits and three runs batted in, and the Marlins beat Colorado 13-5 on Friday night.
Henderson Alvarez (10-5) withstood a pair of homers over six innings to win his fourth consecutive decision. He was making his second start since successfully returning last week from a stint on the disabled list because of right shoulder inflammation.
Colorado pitchers allowed 16 hits, but it was lack of command that cost them. Six pitchers combined to walk nine and also hit a batter to give Miami plenty of opportunity to put up runs. Miami scored six times in the ninth to pull away.
Franklin Morales (5-7) began the slide when he gave up a single to Christian Yelich and a double to Jeff Baker to start the fifth before walking Stanton intentionally to load the bases. Casey McGehee then drove in a run by drawing a walk off Morales.
Morales was relieved by Brooks Brown after allowing six runs on eight hits and walking two.
“Struggled with command, and it ended up being a fairly short night for him,” Rockies’ manager Walt Weiss said of Morales. “Obviously got away from us late.”
After getting a forceout at the plate, Brown walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia to force in another run, and Miami pulled in front 6-2.
Brown limited the damage with a double play, keeping the Rockies within reach.
“I felt like when Brownie got out of that jam, I felt like we were going to win that game,” Weiss said. “I felt offensively we were putting together good at bats against Alvarez.”
Alvarez struck out five, walked none and gave up 10 hits, including two-run homers by Corey Dickerson and Justin Morneau but fought back to keep the Rockies’ lineup largely in check.
The Marlins helped Alvarez get through the rough spots by staking him to a 4-0 lead.
Morneau connected for his 14th homer of the season to make it 4-2 in the third.
Dickerson cut the deficit to 6-4 in the fifth, following Nolan Arenado’s two-out single with his 18th home run.
Miami added another run in the seventh on an RBI double by Donovan Solano. The Marlins put it away with a six-run ninth, capped by Ozuna’s 19th home run.
“I feel like we stayed in the game where we needed to be, and the lead got out of hand,” Dickerson said. “It’s hard to come back when you get that far behind.”
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Arenado finished with four hits for the second time in five games. He also had three hits against Kansas City on Tuesday and is hitting .447 in his last 10 games.
“Nolan’s swinging the bat really well,” Weiss said. “He’s on a roll right now.”
Arenado had two doubles Friday and now has 30 on the season.
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Rockies outfielder Brandon Barnes got his major league-leading 15th pinch hit of the season when he led off the ninth with a triple. He has three pinch-hit triples, also most in the majors.
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Rockies outfielder Michael Cuddyer missed a third consecutive game because of a sore left hamstring. Cuddyer came off the disabled list last weekend after missing 2½ months with a fractured left shoulder. He played in a doubleheader and hit for the cycle Sunday in his first day back but later felt soreness in the hamstring the next day; he remains day to day.
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Miami right-handed pitcher Tom Koehler (9-9, 3.82 ERA) is slated to pitch Saturday night against Colorado righty Jordan Lyles (6-1, 4.01 ERA) in the second of the three-game series between the teams.
