Miami Marlins 9, Philadelphia Phillies 7

“Just some tremendous at-bats up and down the lineup all game”. Recently freed from what he described as “jail” in the minors, Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna hit a majestic home run against the Phillies tonight which bounced off the top of the left field foul pole at Marlins Park.

Phillies right-hander Jerome Williams (4-9) gave up eight hits, four walks and eight runs in 1 2/3 innings.

It was the second Marlins dinger that inning and put the team up, 8-1.

The Miami Marlins have been playing well and that has gotten them out of the National League East. The Marlins have won four of fiver after knocking off the Phillies Thursday as they survived a pen meltdown. Aaron Altherr scored twice and Caesar Hernandez knocked in a run and also scored. Bryan Morris relieved McGough and got Jeff Francoeur to fly out to end the inning with two runners in scoring position. The Marlins loaded the bases with no outs and then cashed in with a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, an RBI groundout and a run-scoring single by Hechavarria.

After the explosive first two frames, Miami stayed off the board until the eighth when Ichiro Suzuki scored following a triple.

The Marlins sent nine batters to the plate in each of the first two innings as Williams was unable to get into a groove. It was his first home run since June 12 against Colorado. Hechavarria extended his career-long hitting streak to 13 games.

Ozuna is hitting. 250 (5 for 20) in six games since being recalled after a 33-game stint with Triple-A New Orleans.

NOTES: Marlins RF Giancarlo Stanton (fractured left hand) said he will return by September 1. Stanton is looking to hit off a pitching machine for five to seven consecutive days seeing about 50-85 pitches before taking the next step.

“There’s still some pain but it’s getting stronger”, he said, adding it’s not possible to hit effectively without the wrist feeling 100 percent. Jerad Eickhoff makes his major league debut after coming over from the Rangers in part of the trade for Cole Hamels. Flores has made six appearances spanning 7.2 innings where he has gone 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA.