Jorge Alfaro, Garrett Cooper blast 3-run homers in Marlins' rout of Giants

MIAMI (AP) — Runs were tough to come by for the Miami Marlins until their recent turnaround, and now they're scoring several at a time.

Jorge Alfaro and Garrett Cooper hit Miami's first three-run homers of the year Tuesday in an 11-3 win over the San Francisco Giants, who lost their sixth game in a row.

Trevor Richards (2-5) gave up a homer to Joe Panik on the game's first pitch but blanked San Francisco thereafter. He allowed two hits and one run in seven innings for the Marlins, who earned their eighth victory in 11 games but still have the worst record in the National League.

The Marlins are last in the majors in runs, doubles, homers, walks, slugging and OPS. But the offense has been much improved lately.

"You're not hitting three-run homers if guys don't get on base," manager Don Mattingly said. His team totaled 14 hits against four San Francisco pitchers.

It was another dismal all-around effort by the Giants (21-32), who have been outscored 45-11 in the past four games and are 11 games below .500 for the first time.

"You can't get off to a better start — your leadoff hitter hits the first pitch out of the ballpark," manager Bruce Bochy said. "You think momentum is going to swing over and get the bats going, but it's just the opposite."

Meanwhile, Miami kept adding on. Alfaro hit his eighth homer in the fifth to make the score 7-1, and Cooper added his third homer in the sixth.

When asked about the three-run homer as a weapon, Mattingly smiled. The Marlins had none in their first 51 games.

"I don't mind it," Mattingly said. "We just don't use it enough, right? It's good to see. They change the game quick."

Starlin Castro's two-out, two-run double in the third put Miami ahead to stay. Rookie Harold Ramirez had three hits to hike his average to .413 in 13 games.

"Sometimes I don't believe I'm here," Ramirez said. "But my mother and my wife told me believe it."

Pinch hitter Rosell Herrera hit his first homer of the year in the eighth to make the score 11-1.

Jeff Samardzija (2-4) lost his third start in a row. He allowed a season-high five earns runs in four-plus innings, matching his shortest outing of the year.

"Obviously everyone's aware of what's going," Samardzija said. "As a starting pitcher, you get that one day, you're chomping at the bit to get out there and throw up a bunch of zeroes and get a big win. Unfortunately it didn't roll that way today."

The Marlins' first seven runs scored with two out. They went 5 for 13 with runners in scoring position.

Miami improved to 10-4 against the Giants since 2017.

GOPHER BALLS

Alfaro hit a 1-2 fastball from Nick Vincent for his homer. Cooper homered on an 0-2 knuckle curve from Derek Holland.

"Ahead in the count ... that's just poor concentration and execution," Bochy said. "There's no excuses for that."

TRAINER'S ROOM

Giants: Vincent (right pec) will go on the injured list, Bochy said. The right-hander left the game in the sixth inning accompanied by a trainer. ... RHP Trevor Gott (strained forearm) will soon throw a bullpen and is expected to be activated next week.

Marlins: RHP Riley Ferrell (sore lat) has been sidelined while on a rehab assignment.

UP NEXT

Giants: LHP Madison Bumgarner (3-4. 4.10), who will start the second game of the series Wednesday, has 70 strikeouts and only 13 walks this season. He's 2-0 in five starts in May.

Marlins: RHP Pablo Lopez (3-5, 5.40) will start against the Giants for the first time. He is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in four home starts this year.