Marlins strike early, hold on to beat Giants

SAN FRANCISCO -- Jumping on Jeff Samardzija, the San Francisco Giants' sharpest starting pitcher of late, the Miami Marlins scored twice in the first inning and received a home run from Justin Bour to prevail, 5-4, on Saturday.
Samardzija, who won his previous two starts and issued only three walks in his previous 12 outings, yielded Christian Yelich's RBI double and Marcell Ozuna's run-scoring single in the first inning. Bour, a lifetime .394 hitter against the Giants, belted his 20th home run in the fourth.
The Marlins recorded 10 hits, extending their streak of games with at least 10 hits to seven. The streak is the second longest in Marlins history behind 15 such games in 2009. J.T. Realmuto, Ozuna and Yelich each had two hits Saturday. And with Bour's blast, the Marlins now have three players with 20 or more homers.

"You look from top to bottom and you can't really pick and choose a spot where a pitcher could take a break," Bour said. "This is a very solid lineup so it's just good to be a part of that. We're able to put runs up in a hurry [with homers]."
That provided sufficient support for Chris O'Grady, the Marlins' 27-year-old right-hander who became the 11th pitcher in franchise history to win his Major League debut. He lasted 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on five hits.
"He stayed off the barrel of the bat," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.
The Giants narrowed the difference to a single run in the ninth and had the tying and winning runs on base when Marlins closer AJ Ramos struck out Hunter Pence to end the game.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Posey probability: San Francisco's 2017 All-Star, Buster Posey, started the Giants' rally in the sixth inning with an improbable double -- with a hit probability of 2 percent by Statcast™. The double looped into shallow right field before dropping just out of reach of Marlins first baseman Bour. Brandon Belt followed with a double of his own, Jae-Gyun Hwang walked and Brandon Crawford scored Belt on a groundout, completing what Posey started.

"Buster hit that ball that dropped down the line on us, which was a little unfortunate," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
Marlins mute Giants:Kyle Barraclough furthered the Marlins' chances for victory by recording a scoreless seventh inning despite issuing a leadoff walk to pinch-hitter Kelby Tomlinson. Barraclough didn't allow a ball to be hit out of the infield, coaxing groundouts from Denard Span, Joe Panik and Pence.
QUOTABLE
"Not who I was expecting to get my first strikeout against, that's for sure. -- O'Grady, on striking out Posey in the first inning for his first Major League K

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Stanton's double in the fifth was the hardest-hit ball at AT&T Park since Statcast™ debuted in 2015. It clocked in with a 118.4 mph exit velocity, which is Stanton's second hardest hit of the year; both have been doubles. Coincidentally, Stanton owned the previous best in San Francisco at 116.1 when the Marlins visited in 2015.
WHAT'S NEXT
Marlins: Before the Marlins host the Majors' stars in Miami, they wrap up the first half in Sunday's 4:05 p.m. ET finale. José Ureña makes his first career start against the Giants.
Giants: San Francisco ends its frustrating first half with a 1:05 p.m. PT encounter Sunday against Miami at AT&T Park. Right-hander Johnny Cueto, forced to skip his previously scheduled outing at Detroit with an inner ear infection, will replace Matt Cain as San Francisco's starter.
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