Major League Baseball

Ozuna hits grand slam, Marlins beat Phillies 14-5

Published May. 21, 2014 11:03 p.m. ET

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MIAMI (AP) Marcell Ozuna came into Wednesday night's game mired in a slump.

He was 3 for 24 in the previous nine games, but hit a grand slam and knocked in five runs to help power the Miami Marlins past the Philadelphia Phillies 14-5.

''He needed that,'' Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. ''He needed to lock it in and have a couple good at-bats. He's definitely had some struggles this month. ... Hopefully this is a spark for him and a spark for us.''

Christian Yelich, Garrett Jones, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each drove in two runs for the Marlins, who have the best home record (18-6) in baseball.

Nathan Eovaldi (3-2) allowed three runs-one earned-and 10 hits in six innings to pick up the win.

''I felt command,'' Eovaldi said. ''I had better command of my fastball this outing and I was able to make the big pitches when I needed to.''

Ozuna's first career grand slam and seventh home run of the season broke the game open in the seventh inning. Miami led 6-3 with two outs before Jeff Manship loaded the bases and Ozuna smacked a pitch over the left-field wall for a 10-3 lead.

''When I saw the pitch, I said, `I got it. Let me not make a mistake. Just make contact,''' Ozuna said.

Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick (0-5) came into the game with a 10-game winning streak against the Marlins, but lost his 10th consecutive game overall. Kendrick allowed six runs in 5 2-3 innings.

''I wasn't good at all, falling behind in counts, missing over the plate, my fastball command wasn't very good,'' Kendrick said. ''Guys scored runs and I gave it right back to them and that's what's frustrating.''

Domonic Brown homered and drove in three runs for the Phillies, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Brown's two-run home run pulled Philadelphia within 10-5, but Miami scored four runs in the eighth to post their highest run total of the season.

Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton came up with a pivotal defensive play in the fifth inning. With the bases loaded and the Marlins holding onto a 5-3 lead, Cody Asche hit a line drive to the right-center field gap that looked as if it would clear the bases. Stanton raced to his right making a diving back-handed catch to end the inning.

''The great catch in right-center field was a game-changing play,'' Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. ''That was potentially a 6-5 lead and a whole different type of a game.''

The Phillies scored two unearned runs in the first and the Marlins responded with two in the bottom half.

After Stanton drove in a run on a ground out to give Miami a 3-2 lead, Tony Gwynn, Jr. singled to tie the game at 3 in the fourth for Philadelphia.

Miami took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth on RBI singles by Ozuna and Yelich for a 5-3 advantage.

NOTES: After the game the Marlins optioned RHP Anthony DeSclafani to Triple-A New Orleans. LHP Randy Wolf (0-0, 1.80) will take DeSclafani's spot in the rotation and start Sunday against Milwaukee. ... The Marlins are averaging 6.0 runs at home compared to 3.4 on the road. ... Phillies SS Jimmy Rollins tied Richie Ashburn (2,217) for the second-most hits in franchise history. ... Kendrick's 10-game winning streak against the Marlins was the longest active streak by any pitcher in MLB against one team. ... Philadelphia will send LHP Cole Hamels (1-2, 4.40) to the mound in Thursday's series finale against Marlins RHP Henderson Alvarez (2-3, 3.62).

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