Marlins sweep LA; Gordon suspended

LOS ANGELES — Kenta Maeda looked like he was going to turn in another excellent start, but that trajectory was interrupted by a seventh-inning rally that helped the Marlins to a 5-3 win and a four-game sweep of Don Mattingly’s former team.

With one out and Maeda cruising with a 2-1 lead, J.T. Realmuto and Adeiny Hechavarria hit back-to-back singles to put men in scoring position. After a strikeout of Derek Dietrich, Dee Gordon belted an opposite-field single that allowed Realmuto to beat a Carl Crawford throw home and tie the game. That prompted Dave Roberts to pull Maeda after 101 pitches, and Pedro Baez allowed two more of Maeda’s baserunners to score.

“I felt that it’s not a pitch count thing, he was strong, he was still making pitches,” manager Dave Roberts said. “He had just punched a guy out. He had seen Dee three times, weak contact, nothing really special, so I felt that it was his game and wanted to give him a chance to complete the inning.”

Minutes after completing their first-ever sweep at Dodger Stadium, the Marlins were jarred by the announcement that Gordon, their All-Star second baseman, has been suspended 80 games without pay for a violation of the league’s drug policy.

“Obviously, two different ends of the spectrum for us, and our team,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You’d expect our team to be in there all excited, and then we get this news. Not quite the feeling, but from there, we’ll support Dee. These guys love Dee, and I feel like he’s one of our kids, to be honest with you.”

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy players

Maeda’s loss was the first of his MLB career and the four runs allowed are a career high, raising his ERA to 1.41. Meanwhile, Jose Fernandez took the win after looking strong in six innings, striking out eight and allowing five hits and two runs.

“I’m really proud the guys hung in there again,” Mattingly said. “They get up early and then Jose calms down and he just keeps them right there the rest of the way. J.T. with that home run, it was big for …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com