Bryson Stott's bases-clearing triple keys MLB-best Phillies' 8-3 win over Marlins

MIAMI (AP) — Bryson Stott hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning, and the major league-best Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 on Saturday.

Stott finished with two hits and four RBIs. Catcher J.T. Realmuto had a run-scoring single and threw out two baserunners trying to steal for the Phillies, who have won 13 of 15 to improve to 28-12. Cristian Pache had three hits and an RBI and is 5-for-9 through the first two games of the series.

Bryce Harper, who went 0-for-5, was the only Phillies starter without a hit. Philadelphia finished with 12 knocks.

“The bottom of the lineup has done a great job the last couple of days,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s good to see. We’re getting guys time off and the guys that don’t usually play are performing.”

Pache entered the series hitting .118 and has raised his average to .269.

“I am feeling very comfortable at the plate and appreciative for the club giving me an opportunity to play,” Pache said in Spanish.

Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-0) allowed one run in six innings. He gave up eight hits and struck out four.

“I felt my stuff was good. They were swinging it early and got some quick outs,” Walker said. “Our offense has been rolling — one through nine. My job was to go out there and try to put up as many zeros as possible because I knew they were going to put up runs.”

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 10-31. They are 1-7 since trading NL batting champion Luis Arraez on May 4.

Philadelphia trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Realmuto’s RBI hit against Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo (0-3). Anthony Maldonado relieved Luzardo and allowed Alec Bohm’s two-out single and walked Nick Castellanos. Stott then hit a hard grounder over the bag at first that rolled to the wall and cleared the bases.

The Phillies broke it open with a four-run eighth. Stott and Pache hit RBI singles and Johan Rojas’ two-run single padded the lead.

“Luzardo was dominant early on but we were able to make adjustments,” Pache said. “Thank God we came out with the win.”

Otto López hit a two-run homer for Miami in the ninth.

Vidal Bruján put the Marlins ahead 1-0 in the fifth when he drove the first pitch from Walker over the wall in right-center for his first homer since Oct. 5, 2022, when he was with Tampa Bay.

Luzardo allowed two runs and four hits while striking out out eight in 5 2/3 innings. He had been sidelined since April 20 because of left elbow tightness.

“They have one of the strongest lineups in the major leagues and my job was to attack early,” Luzardo said. “I felt my body reacted well the entire game. It is something that we can build on for the next start.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies: DH-OF Kyle Schwarber missed his first game of the season. Schwarber experienced back soreness during Friday’s series opener and was replaced late in the game.

Marlins: INF Tim Anderson (lower back tightness) was a late scratch. ... LHP A.J. Puk (left shoulder fatigue) struck out the three batters he faced in a rehab appearance with Triple-A Jacksonville Friday.

UP NEXT

RHP Zack Wheeler (4-3, 1.64) will start for the Phillies as they seek a three-game sweep on Sunday. LHP Braxton Garrett will make his season debut for the Marlins. Garrett began the season on the injured list because of a left shoulder impingement.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Philadelphia Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas is unable to catch a ball hit by Miami Marlins' Jake Burger for a single during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Marlins second base Otto Lopez, left, tags out Philadelphia Phillies' Alec Bohm (28) after Bohm attempted to stretch out a base hit during the fourth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Philadelphia Phillies' Edmundo Sosa breaks his bat as he hits during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Marlins' Jesus Luzardo delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Philadelphia Phillies' Taijuan Walker delivers a pitch during the first inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Philadelphia Phillies second base Bryson Stott, left, prepares to tag out Miami Marlins' Jazz Chisholm Jr. after Chisholm attempted to steal second base during the first inning of a baseball game, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Philadelphia Phillies players celebrate after they beat the Miami Marlins 8-3 in a baseball game, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

PHOENIX (AP) — A judge on Friday rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters will use to weigh a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten said the wording the legislative council suggested is “packed with emotion and partisan meaning” and asked for what he called more “neutral” language. The measure aims to expand abortion access from 15 weeks to 24 weeks – the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb.

It would allow exemptions to save the woman’s life or to protect her physical or mental health. It would also prevent the state from adopting or enforcing laws that would forbid access to the procedure.

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, who is a co-chair of the legislative council, said the group will appeal the court’s decision to the state Supreme Court.

“The ruling is just plain wrong and clearly partisan,” said Toma, a Republican.

The State Supreme Court has until Aug. 27 to rule on the appeal for the language to be changed.

Aaron Thacker, communications director for Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, noted that the final decision on the ballot itself remains in the air.

“There’s still a lot of scenarios at play," he said. "Even after the secretary certifies the signatures, the courts have to decide if counties can put it on the ballot or not."

Arizona for Abortion Access, the organization leading the ballot measure campaign, sued the council earlier this month over the suggested language and advocated for the term “fetus,” which the council rejected.

Attorney General Kris Mayes wrote in a motion to submit an amicus brief that “fetus" and “pregnancy” are both neutral terms that the council could adopt.

“It’s incredibly important to us that Arizona voters get to learn more about and weigh our measure in objective and accurate terminology,” said Dawn Penich, communications director for the abortion access group.

Democrats have centered abortion rights in their campaigns in this year’s elections. Organizers in five other states have also proposed similar measures that would codify abortion access in their state constitutions: Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada and South Dakota.

Arizona organizers submitted more than double the amount of signatures needed for the measure to appear on the ballot.

FILE - Arizona abortion-rights supporters deliver over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. A judge on Friday, July 26, rejected an effort by GOP lawmakers to use the term “unborn human being” to refer to a fetus in the pamphlet that Arizona voters will use to decide on a ballot measure that would expand abortion access in the state. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)