Brian Anderson hit grand slam in loss to Minnesota

Going in the bottom of the ninth inning looking helpless against the Minnesota Twins, the Miami Marlins showed life late by loading the bases on three straight singles and all scored on a grand slam by Brian Anderson.

Three straight strikeouts ended the rally and the Twins secured a 7-4 win on Wednesday. The loss snapped a 10-game winning streak when Anderson hits a home run, one shy from the franchise record set by Jeff Conine in 2004 (May 24-Sept. 28) and Justin Bour in 2017 (May 23-Sept. 20)

Anderson now has a career high 16 home runs this season and is on pace to pass the 20 home run benchmark by the final game.

“That power, he showed it in the Minor Leagues,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He’s a guy you felt like was going to get to it. I think he can get so much better still. I really do. He’s a guy, I think, who will improve with age as he gets a little older, and continues to gain more experience as his strength continues to come in. I just think this is where we’re headed with him.”

“That’s something that we’ve been working on, not trying to hit more homers or doubles, or anything like that,” Anderson said. “But just getting my body in a good position to where I can do some damage on mistakes. Other than that, it’s pretty much the same thing. I’m going through my routine every day, and trying to get in a good position to consistently get to where I can adjust and use my hands and try to drive some mistakes.”

It was night for home runs, especially for the Twins, who leads the majors with 209 home runs, 16 shy of the club record set in 1963.  Minnesota hit three home runs for the 32nd time this season, all of which came off Marlins All-Star starting pitcher, Sandy Alcantara.

“I think I’ve been feeling out of focus,” Alcantara said. “That’s one of the things I have to keep working on, get ahead of the count and work ahead of the batters.”

Alcantara has struggled since the All-Star Game,. He has a 7.89 ERA in four starts since the break and 17 walks in five outings this month. Prior to July, the 23-year-old earned the honor with a a 3.86 ERA.

“We always feel like he’s capable of hitting spots because you see it in the ‘pen,” Mattingly said. “You just haven’t seen it consistently in the field. It’s something that he obviously has to continue to work on and get better. Simple as that. Since the All-Star break, he hasn’t been that good.”

It’s now up to Jordan Yamamotto to avoid the sweep on Thursday. The rookie is coming off back-to-back starts of four innings and 5-6 earned runs against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks.