Two Diamondbacks Ejected as Marlins Take Series
By Kody Acevedo
Jul 22, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (left) celebrates with third baseman Jake Lamb after scoring in the fifth inning against the Miami Marlins at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
With things not exactly going their way, the Arizona Diamondbacks (43-50) showed signs of frustration Wednesday night with a little bean ball fest between pitchers from both dugouts as Arizona dropped the series to the Miami Marlins (40-55) two-games-to-three.
In the bottom of the 6th inning with Arizona down 5-2, David Peralta was drilled by a 97 MPH fastball from Marlins’ starter Jose Fernandez in the upper part of his body near the back right side of his helmet.
While Peralta was on the ground a little shaken up, home plate umpire Vic Carapazza ejected D-backs’ hitting coach Turner Ward, who was yelling from the dugout.
Peralta appeared to okay but was replaced in the game by A.J. Pollock. Peralta later told reporters he felt fine and didn’t sense there was any intention.
Jul 22, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; A trainer tends to Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta on the ground after being hit in the head by a pitch in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
But the following inning, D-backs’ reliever Dominic Leone hit Marlins’ left-fielder Christian Yelich in the leg and was immediately ejected from the game.
Josh Collmenter came on to reliever Leone in the middle of the Marlins’ half of the 7th inning.
In addition to all the action from the pitchers, the Marlins’ offense showed up in the clutch Wednesday night.
Miami got to work early in the second inning when J.T. Realmuto doubled to center field to score Casey McGehee and give the Marlins a 1-0 lead.
Later in the inning, Cole Gillespie hit a sacrifice-fly to right field to score Michael Morse and make it a 2-0 Miami lead.
The Marlins would add another run in the inning when Pitcher Jose Fernandez doubled to score Realmuto.
The D-backs wouldn’t answer back until the 4th inning when they tacked on two runs of their own to pull within one run of Miami.
Yasmany Tomas smacked an RBI single to score Paul Goldschmidt and Jake Lamb later tripled to bring Tomas around to score and make it a 3-2 ball game.
But that’s as close the D-backs would get.
The following inning, Miami put two runs on the board courtesy of an Ichiro Suzuki RBI triple and a RBI single from former D-back Martin Prado.
With the score 5-2 in the 7th, the D-backs scratched a little closer when Ender Inciarte doubled to score Aaron Hill, but the Marlins shut them down the rest of the way.
The Marlins pitching held a 5-3 and Miami took game three to win the series and their second game in a row.
Coming into this series, the D-backs were 4-0 against the Marlins, sweeping them in four games backs in May in Miami.
This time however, the Marlins roared back after dropping game one 3-1. They shut out Arizona 3-0 to even the series in game two and then ultimately wrapped things up with a win in the rubber match of the series.
For the D-backs, they have now lost five-of-six since returning from the All-Star Break and have dropped to seven game below .500. They are also 9.5 games back of first in the N.L. West.
With things not starting off well in the second-half, the D-backs certainly have to be frustrated, especially because they aren’t playing well against mediocre teams, like the Mets and Marlins.
So, it’s no surprise to see a little retaliation from Leone in the 7th inning. Sure, he and Ward were ejected from the game, but at least they are still playing with some passion and a little flare every now-and-then.
Hopefully, they can take what happened tonight and use it as motivation to get back on the winning track as they start a four-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.