Andres Blanco, Jorge Alfaro knock in runs as Phillies rally in the ninth to beat Marlins

MIAMI – The Phillies offense dragged for eight innings on Friday night, appearing as lifeless as the crowd that scattered the lower bowl of Marlins Park. They had four hits and were mystified by a 5-foot-9 lefthander who jumped from double A to make his major-league debut.

Then Maikel Franco cracked a leadoff double in the ninth and a 2-1 win was born. Jorge Alfaro blooped a single to right to score Franco. Andres Blanco then provided the game-winning groundout, scoring Pedro Florimon on a soft tapper to second. It was not pretty but it was a win.

"It's how you win games," manager Pete Mackanin said.

Franco's double was the first extra-base hit of the game. He then moved to third on a groundout by Nick Williams. Alfaro, the rookie catcher who has shown promise at the plate, delivered. He kept it simple and poked an outside curveball to right field. Florimon, who walked before Alfaro, moved to third. Blanco knew the speed that Florimon possesses and just wanted to put the ball in play.

"I hit it soft enough that it wasn't a double play," Blanco said. "It's been a tough year. I trusted in my skill and I was ready to go."

"It brought us up. It lifted out spirits. That double made us think that we could win," Alfaro said.

The rally took Nick Pivetta off the hook. He would have been saddled with the loss despite pitching six strong innings. The righthander struck out six, walked three, and allowed four hits.

Pivetta needed just 13 pitches on Friday night to put himself in serious trouble. He loaded the bases without an out in the first inning. Danger was near. But Pivetta escaped, yielded just a run, and rallied to turn in one of the best outings of his rookie year.

"He battled. He didn't give up," Mackanin said. "He went out there and competed. He wanted to pitch well and rebound and he did it."

Pivetta found command of his fastball as the game waned and paired it with an effective curveball. The Phillies do not know who the four starting pitchers will be next season in the rotation with Aaron Nola. Pivetta made his case on Friday.

"The work I've been doing here is starting to come together," Pivetta said. "I know I had a rough August. Just looking forward to September and finishing strong."

Pivetta began the night giving up an infield single to Dee Gordon. He then walked Giancarlo Stanton on four straight pitches. He walked Christian Yelich on five pitches. It was shaping up to be an early night. Marcell Ozuna smoked the first pitch he saw, but it was hit straight at first baseman Tommy Joseph for an out. Pivetta struck out J.T. Realmuto with a curveball. He yielded a run on a wild pitch before Brian Anderson grounded out to end the inning. Disaster diverted.

The night came just 10 days since the Marlins chased Pivetta after four outs. It would have been easy to fold on Friday when the bases were loaded. But Pivetta chose to persevere.

"I know I belong here," Pivetta said. "I know I can beat that team. I've beaten that team before. I like to think that they got lucky last time. I wasn't doing the right job then and I was able to get ahead of guys more today."

Dillon Peters stymied the Phillies in his major-league debut. He pitched seven scoreless innings, struck out eight and walked three. Peters allowed just two runners to reach second base. Peters yielded just three hits, two of which came from Joseph. The Phillies never threatened him.

Rhys Hoskins went 0 for 3 with a walk and three strikeouts to snap his 13-game hitting streak. He has reached base safely in 16 straight games.

Pivetta avoided trouble again in the fifth after Gordon led off with a single and appeared to steal second. The speedy runner slid past the bag and was tagged out. Pivetta then caught Stanton looking at a fastball. Pivetta picked up his sixth strikeout in the sixth, throwing a nasty curveball that brought Ozuna to his knees after he swung past it.

Mackanin handed the seventh to Edubray Ramos and Hoby Milner retired the two lefthanders he faced in the eighth. Mackanin then turned to Juan Nicasio, the pitcher the Phillies acquired Thursday from Pittsburgh and joined the team during batting practice on Friday. The righthander retired the lone batter he faced to finish the eighth. The three relievers kept the Phillies in the game. And soon they would win it.

"I told Nicasio that we weren't going to pay him," Mackanin said. "Throwing three pitches to get a win? That's not fair. We're happy about it."