By The Associated Press on June 19, 2023.
MIAMI (AP) – Luis Arraez went 5 for 5 again to raise his batting average to .400, and Jorge Soler homered as the streaking Miami Marlins routed the Toronto Blue Jays 11-0 on Monday night. Jon Berti had three hits and Jesús Sánchez doubled twice for the Marlins, who finished with a season-high 19 hits and won their fifth straight. Miami improved to a season-high 11 games over .500 at 42-31. It was the second time in his past three games that Arraez went 5 for 5, following an 0-for-15 slide that dropped his average to .378. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the fourth major-leaguer since 1900 to have three five-hit games in a calendar month, joining three Hall of Famers: George Sisler (August 1921), Ty Cobb (July 1922) and Dave Winfield (June 1984). Arraez has 102 hits in 67 games played, the second-fastest player to 100 in Marlins history. Dee Strange-Gordon reached the century mark in 65 games in 2015. Arraez’s fifth single, a line drive to left field with the base loaded, scored two and highlighted a five-run seventh. The crowd of 12,226 gave Arraez a standing ovation before the at-bat and chanted “Louie! Louie! Louie!” once he reached first base. No big league player has batted .400 for a full season since Ted Williams hit .406 for the Boston Red Sox in 1941. Bo Bichette had two hits for the Blue Jays, shut out for the first time this season. Bichette also reached 100 hits with his leadoff single in the ninth. Soler’s two-run homer and Garrett Cooper’s RBI single in the third put Miami ahead 3-0. Soler drove a breaking pitch from starter José BerrÃos to left-centre for his 21st homer. The Marlins padded their lead on Soler’s sacrifice fly and Sánchez’s RBI groundout in the fourth. Starting pitcher Bryan Hoeing threw four scoreless innings in a bullpen game for Miami. Hoeing allowed three hits and struck out a career-high five. Huascar Brazobán (1-1) followed and got the next six outs. He gave up one single. BerrÃos (7-5) was lifted after the fourth. The right-hander permitted five runs and eight hits in his shortest outing of the season. He walked one and struck out four. HOEING’S ESCAPE The Blue Jays threatened in the fourth, when Daulton Varsho and Bichette singled to start the inning. But then Berti began a 5-4-3 double play on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s hard smash to third. Hoeing struck out Spencer Horwitz to end the inning. ROSTER MOVES The Blue Jays recalled C Tyler Heineman and RHP Trent Thornton from triple-A Buffalo and optioned Bowden Francis to the same minor league club. Thornton relieved BerrÃos and threw two scoreless innings. TRAINER’S ROOM Blues Jays: C Alejandro Kirk (left hand laceration) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Kirk was hit by a pitch Sunday against Texas and the cut didn’t heal enough for a shorter absence. Marlins: CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. (turf toe) worked out and the expectation is he will begin a rehab assignment later in the week. UP NEXT Blue Jays RHP Yusei Kikuchi (6-2, 4.31 ERA) starts the middle game of the series Tuesday against RHP Eury Pérez (4-1, 1.80). — AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports 24