Burger's 1st HR in 2 weeks cements Marlins' comeback vs. division-leading Phils

PHILADELPHIA -- The last time the Marlins stepped foot inside Citizens Bank Park, they watched from the dugout railing as the Phillies celebrated a sweep in the National League Wild Card Series.

Nine months later and halfway through a new season, the Phillies entered Thursday night’s series opener with the Majors’ best record. The Marlins, meanwhile, held the fourth-worst. It wasn’t going to get easier facing Philadelphia ace Zack Wheeler, who shut down Miami in the organization’s surprise return to the postseason last October.

After mustering nothing through the first six innings and trailing by three, the Marlins scored seven of the game’s final eight runs in a 7-4 comeback victory over the Phillies. Scuffling Jake Burger launched the go-ahead homer in the eighth and tallied an RBI single to cap the scoring in the ninth.

“Definitely weird [being back],” said Burger, who was a driving force in Miami’s 2023 postseason push. “It's a memory that obviously left a bad taste in our mouth, so coming here in a tough division against a tough division opponent -- one of the better teams in the big leagues -- being able to get a win tonight; hopefully [we] carry it into the rest of the weekend.”

Burger, who collected three hits for the first time since May 31, ambushed right-hander Jeff Hoffman’s first-pitch slider, crushing his first home run in two weeks. Burger had gone 6-for-44 since that last long ball. Miami added an insurance run on a fielding error by shortstop Edmundo Sosa.

Postgame, Burger credited mental skills coach Marius Aleksa, the hitting staff, his wife Ashlyn and his family for being his sounding board during the tough times.

“It feels like 10 tons were taken off my shoulders a little bit there when that ball went out,” Burger said. “In those situations you're like, ‘It's probably going to go foul just with how the last few weeks have gone.’ It's just kudos to our entire team for battling back down 3-0. It was awesome to see that fight -- and our bullpen's been lights-out coming in, slamming the door -- so it was a great team win.”

Burger's homer put the Marlins back in front for good after they mounted a two-out rally in the seventh to turn a 3-0 deficit into a 4-3 lead but had given it right back in the bottom half of the frame.

Otto Lopez started things off with a single against Wheeler, who was chased after Ali Sánchez’s single. Southpaw Matt Strahm then loaded the bases when he hit Jazz Chisholm Jr. with a pitch before Bryan De La Cruz found the left-center gap for a bases-clearing double. Josh Bell’s 200th career double drove in De La Cruz to give the Marlins the advantage.

Until the four-run seventh, the Marlins had stranded five baserunners and grounded into two inning-ending double plays. The clutch hit was missing. It felt more like Game 1 of the 2023 NLWCS, when the Marlins also chased Wheeler in the seventh inning and threatened to tie the game with a pair of runners in scoring position. Back then, pinch-hitter Yuli Gurriel struck out against lefty José Alvarado in an eventual 4-1 loss.

On Thursday, De La Cruz and Bell’s back-to-back knocks drew boos from the 43,507 fans in attendance.

“You know how the fans are,” De La Cruz said via interpreter Will Nadal. “They just want to see results, and they get frustrated out there. But it's something that we relish in that situation, when they're booing us in that sense. We've just got to act like we're horses. We're just focused on trying to do what we've got to do, and we got the result.”

That result has been lacking in 2024. Entering Thursday, the Marlins averaged just 3.5 runs per game -- the second lowest in MLB. The lineup, the first five batters of which all started last postseason, had been even less productive with left-hander Trevor Rogers on the mound (2.1 runs per start, the least in MLB).

Rogers completed six innings for the fourth time in his past five starts, allowing three runs on 103 pitches -- the most he's thrown since May 14, 2022. He kept Miami in the ballgame with a chance to come back. Despite the difference in the standings, the clubs have split the first four games of the season series.

“I think it was just one of those hard-fought games,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “That bullpen is really good. Strahm is really good. Obviously Hoffman. They've been having an excellent year, but I just felt like up and down the lineup we just had good at-bats. It wasn't just top heavy. It was all the way through, and that's how you score seven runs. It can't be just the first three or four guys.”