MIAMI — Michael Lorenzen threw a season-high eight innings of two-run ball in his Phillies debut as Philadelphia beat the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Thursday.
Acquired from the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, Lorenzen (6-7) scattered six hits and struck out five.
“It’s fun, the guys are great,” Lorenzen said of the defending National League champions. “It’s a good group. Everyone’s really close. I see why they did what they did last year. It’d be fun to make another run.”
J.T. Realmuto homered and singled after a bruised right hand forced the Phillies’ star catcher to miss the last two games. Bryce Harper had two hits for Philadelphia, which won three in the four-game series against its NL East and wild-card rivals.
The victory also relieved the sting of a 9-8 loss in 12 innings on Wednesday night, when Philadelphia squandered a 5-0 lead and two advantages in extra innings. Five relievers were used, adding to the impact of Lorenzen’s outing.
“He was a blessing for us, really,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He came as advertised. Filled the strike zone.”
Miami’s Luis Arraez singled in his four at-bats and his major league-leading batting average dropped to .377.
Seranthony Dominguez relieved Lorenzen and pitched the ninth for his second save.
Philadelphia struck early on Realmuto’s two-run blast in the second. Realmuto drove the first pitch from Marlins starter Johnny Cueto (0-3) into the Phillies’ bullpen for his 13th homer of the season.
“To be able to give the team a lead there after a tough loss [Wednesday] gave us some momentum and Lorenzen a couple of runs early,” Realmuto said. “Definitely felt very good.”
Realmuto showed the noticeable bruise on his hand he got while sliding into second base that sidelined him Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I couldn’t keep my top hand on the bat,” Realmuto said. “I just tried to swing a few times the first day and I couldn’t finish my swing at all. Gotta be honest, the first time I took a swing with two hands in the last two days was in the game.”
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s RBI double in the fourth cut the deficit for Miami. Chisholm matched his career-high hitting streak at 11 with the shot to the gap in left-center that scored Josh Bell from first.
The Phillies padded their lead with Brandon Marsh‘s two-run single against reliever A.J. Puk in the seventh.
Bryan De La Cruz‘s solo homer in the seventh got the Marlins to within 4-2.
“Lorenzen kept us off balance all day,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said.
Despite the late shot from De La Cruz, Thomson entrusted Lorenzen with another inning.
“I was pretty stoked,” Lorenzen said. “[Thomson] asked me how I was feeling after the seventh, meaning if I felt good, he was going to let me get another one. I was happy about it.”
Cueto was lifted after six-plus innings. The right-hander gave up four runs and five hits, walked two and struck out four. It was his third start since missing three months because of right biceps tightness.