Major League Baseball

Stanton hits 484-foot homer to power Marlins past Padres

Published Apr. 4, 2014 11:27 p.m. ET

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MIAMI -- Giancarlo Stanton's home runs can be indescribable for his Marlins teammates.

''Uuufff,'' was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stanton's latest mammoth shot.

Stanton hit a homer that was pushing 500 feet to lead Miami to an 8-2 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night.

His two-run blast traveled an estimated 484 feet to left field, according to ESPN Stats and Info, nearly leaving the stadium and giving the Marlins a 2-0 lead in the first inning

''He absolutely crushed that ball, but it doesn't surprise me,'' Marlins pitcher Tom Koehler said. ''I've seen him hit balls further.''

Jarrod Saltalamacchia had three hits and drove in two runs and Adeiny Hechavarria had a career-high four hits for the Marlins, who have won four of five to start the season.

''I think guys are feeling good, they're confident,'' Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. ''We're having fun. We're just going out there and playing.''

Tom Koehler (1-0) pitched six innings, allowing two runs and Brad Hand pitched three scoreless innings for his first career save.

Yasmani Grandal and Jedd Gyorko each had two hits for the Padres, who have lost three straight. Eric Stults (0-1) allowed five runs in four innings.

Stanton's second home run got the Marlins rolling and is the longest in the three-year history of the Marlins ballpark.

''It was a good first punch,'' Stanton said.

He has nine RBIs through five games while hitting .350.

Logan Morrison previously had the longest homer in the stadium at 467 feet off Washington's Dan Haren on Sept. 6, 2013.

''Now you can't say Lo-Mo's got a bigger bomb than me,'' Stanton said. ''I thought the one that hit the scoreboard (462 feet against Jamie Moyer in 2012) was equivalent, but sweet.

The pitch wasn't where Stults had in mind.

''I just threw a fastball down the middle,'' Stults said. ''I was trying to throw a fastball in and just didn't get it to my spot.''

Casey McGehee had two RBI's pushing his total to 10, which is the most by any Marlins player in the first five games of the season. McGehee had a sacrifice fly as part of a three-run third inning to stretch the lead to 5-0 and had an RBI single in the eighth to cap the scoring for Miami.

The Marlins have scored 35 runs in their 4-1 start after finishing last in the majors in runs last season during their 100-loss campaign.

On the other end is San Diego, which has scored eight runs in four games.

''That's something that can get a little bit overplayed,'' Gyorko said. ''We have 700 at-bats coming so you can't look too much into things at this point.''

Garrett Jones also had an RBI double and Marcell Ozuna drove in a run for the Marlins.

Hechavarria, known more for his dazzling defensive plays at shortstop, is hitting .579 after hitting .227 as a rookie last season.

''I was just disappointing in my performance last year, that was a driving force into me improving this year,'' Hechavarria said.

Yonder Alonso and Gyorko drove in the runs for the Padres.

''It's so big in this game to get into a rhythm and they had it going early and we didn't,'' Alonso said.

NOTES: Grandal, a Miami native, reached base four times and had approximately 150 friends and family members in attendance. . Miami Dolphins offensive tackle Brandon Albert threw out the ceremonial first pitch. . Marlins 21-year old ace RHP Jose Fernandez (1-0, 1.50) will make his second start of the season on Saturday against Padres RHP Andrew Cashner (0-0, 1.50).

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