Fish fear the Gorton’s Fisherman. He promises them only the dread fate of breadcrumbs, batter, and oil. Now, his beard is both shorter and grayer than Brandon Marsh’s. And his hair, it must be said, is significantly more tame. Still, there’s a resemblance between the two, if you squint a little. Maybe the Marlins were a little spooked.

Anyway, how about that Trea Turner? His stats are looking shinier than that Emmy his documentary just won. He started this one off by lifting a Sandy Alcantara sinker just high enough to clear the wall, giving the Phillies a 1-0 lead two pitches in. Alec Bohm doubled, but a sliding catch from Miami center fielder Dane Myers on a low Nick Castellanos liner and a Max Kepler groundout ended the inning.

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The Marlins put their first hit on the board against Mick Abel in the second, as Kyle Stowers slapped a liner to right and blazed his way to third. A free pass to Liam Hicks put runners on the corners, and a single up the middle by Connor Norby tied the game. Abel hit a batter to load the bases with two outs, but Bryson Stott intercepted a screaming liner to end the inning.

The Phillies would take the lead back in the top of the fourth, when Max Kepler hit a moonshot to the second deck. Stott joined in the fun by hitting a ball that got Stowers turned around, allowing him to reach second without a slide, though the inning ended before he could make his way home.

Alcantara only made it through one inning more, with Valente Bellozo taking over in the top of the sixth. He navigated through the inning allowing only one baserunner, who was stranded at first. The Phillies also made a change in the sixth, replacing Abel with Taijuan Walker. Walker put the Miamis down in order, as the Phillies clung to their one-run lead.

Brandon Marsh was not content to keep it there. He smacked a ball right up the first-base line, just past the glove of a diving Eric Wagaman, then dashed all the way to third, sliding, helmet flying off. His damp hair would have waved in the breeze, had the LoanDepot Park roof not been closed. A bingle from Trea Turner scored him immediately after, and the Phillies had a 3-1 lead.

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Jordan Romano took the seventh, stranding one, and allowing none to pass first.

Bellozo came out for a third consecutive inning (a rarity in this age of one-inning relievers), and sent the Phillies down in order. The Phillies, meanwhile, preferred the modern one-inning parade, sending Matt Strahm to take the next three outs. At that point, the Fish began to bite. A pair of singles— the first to Xavier Edwards, the second to pinch hitter Javier Sanoja— put a runner in scoring position with none out. A grounder to short might’ve been two outs, but the Phillies were only able to get one, and so there were runners on the corners. A foul pop sent a trio of Phillies converging on the ball, with Kepler being the one to come up with it. He got the out, but Edwards sprinted home, the throw was not in time, and the Phillies’ lead was back down to one.

Cade Gibson was tasked with keeping the Marlins within striking distance. He induced a groundout from Stott, but put Rafael Marchán on second when Javier Sanoja slid to catch a line drive and saw it bounce out of his glove and hop down the turf— the one that got away, we’ll call it. That might also apply to the passed ball that put Marchán on third as Marsh walked. Kyle Schwarber got plunked to load the bases. The Marlins challenged it to no avail.

That left Alec Bohm with the bases loaded. He took a low changeup and turned it into a worm burner, tearing through the left side of the infield and scoring two.

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The Marlins were thus faced with the unenviable task of finding three runs against Orion Kerkering. They made precisely no progress on this mission, with three Marlins coming to the plate and three Marlins being served up on a platter. Kerkering provided a squeeze of lemon and a bit of parsley, earning his first save.

The Phillies are 43-29. They continue the series against the Marlins tomorrow at 6:10.

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