It may have been just the second start for Jose Fernandez in his return from Tommy John surgery, but the 22-year-old right-hander was in midseason form, striking out nine over seven shutout innings. Fernandez’s gem set the tone in the Marlins’ 2-0 victory over the Reds on Thursday night at Marlins Park.
Fernandez improved to 14-0 (1.17 ERA) in 22 career starts at Marlins Park, and he helped Miami snap its four-game losing streak. According to The Elias Sports Bureau, Fernandez is the third pitcher since 1900 to win each of his first 14 home decisions. The others are Johnny Allen (1932-33 Yankees) and LaMarr Hoyt (1980-82 White Sox), who both had their streaks reach 16 games.
Fernandez’s streak of 22 home starts without a loss to open a career is the longest since 1914, according to Stats LLC.
“Obviously, I can’t do it by myself,” Fernandez said. “It’s a team game. They played a great game today. I’m thankful and I’m grateful, too.”
Justin Bour’s first-inning RBI double to center opened the scoring against Reds right-hander, Michael Lorenzen, who gave up two runs in six innings. Cincinnati threatened with two one-out hits off Fernandez in the seventh inning, but Tucker Barnhart tapped into a 6-4-3 double play.
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