Big returns from Jazz, Jean power Marlins to 12 over .500

BOSTON -- The Marlins welcomed back three key pieces to open a two-city trip with stops in Beantown and Atlanta: Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jean Segura and vintage Sandy Alcantara.

Chisholm went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, Segura homered over the Green Monster and Alcantara tossed seven innings in Miami’s 10-1 victory over Boston on Tuesday night at Fenway Park. The Marlins matched a season high with 19 hits to improve to 12 games over .500 (46-34) for the first time since 2009. It was also Miami’s first win over Boston since -- you guessed it -- 2009.

“It's just fun to go out there and get a ‘W’, just to go out there and pass the baton, play with my guys and see them get hyped every time I did something, me getting hype every time they did something,” Chisholm said. “It's just fun to be back out there. I didn't really look at anything else except just getting back out there and having fun with the boys, so that was the main thing.”

Sidelined since May 14 with turf toe, Chisholm doubled to straightaway center in the first inning and later scored on Garrett Cooper’s single to right. Chisholm then hit an RBI single in the fourth and a two-run single in the eighth.

Though Miami went 26-13 in Chisholm’s absence, there’s no doubt his presence both lengthens the lineup and makes it more dangerous. Manager Skip Schumaker called him a “game changer.” Bryan De La Cruz, whose two-run homer ignited the offense in a three-run first, pointed to the team’s output as proof.

Despite missing 39 games, Chisholm entered the series opener first on the club in stolen bases (14), fourth in homers (seven) and sixth in RBIs (16). He had begun to find his groove at the plate in May, with hits in five of his last six games prior to the injury. Tuesday marked his second three-hit game of the season.

While Chisholm’s injury was ill-timed, perhaps Segura’s Grade 1 left hamstring strain was a blessing in disguise. Entering the series opener, the veteran was batting .128 in 12 games in June, a continuation of his season-long struggles with his new club.

Whether thanks to a mental reset or mechanical adjustments -- or perhaps a combination of the two -- Segura saw near-immediate results. After striking out swinging in the first and grounding into a fielder’s choice in the third, he led off the fifth with a homer (his second of the year) and singled in the eighth.

“They've had a lot of time off and probably watching the team doing really well without them, and wanting to be part of this thing, and I think the pressure [was] a little bit off of them, too, because they don't have to come back feeling like they have to be the hero,” Schumaker said. “Just be who they are is good enough for us, and Jazz just being who he is and not have to do anything more than what he's capable of doing, and same with Segura. It was a perfect night tonight.”

Chisholm’s and Segura’s contributions overshadowed leadoff batter Luis Arraez’s latest multihit performance, which kept his average level at .399. Joey Wendle bookended the lineup with a four-hit showing.

“We’ve got guys from the top to the bottom that put the ball in play, hit some homers, run the bases well, we steal some bases,” Segura said. “Situational hitting, we've been so great all year long. It's just to me it looks like a really, really, really complete lineup.”

Added De La Cruz via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr.: “The adrenaline is flowing through everybody. It's amazing. Look at Sandy what he did today, and things that he will do. Everybody is with that rush of adrenaline.”

That extends to the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner. Alcantara hasn’t been himself this season, in large part because of big innings spoiling otherwise solid starts.

It looked like it might be more of the same when Justin Turner and Alex Verdugo knocked back-to-back doubles in the first, cutting Miami’s lead to 3-1. But Alcantara retired 12 of the next 15 batters. Tuesday marked Alcantara’s second start this month of seven frames and just one run.

“I've been here for six years now, [and] I think this is the greatest team that I've ever been [on],” Alcantara said. “Everybody's happy. Everybody's supporting each other. But what we are doing this year is something that people will know [about], because we surprised a lot of people this year, and we’ve just got to keep doing what we're doing.”