The Miami Marlins ended a franchise-record 12-game losing streak with a dramatic 8-7 comeback victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday night.
Trailing by two runs in the ninth inning, Miami rallied to tie the game before Griffin Conine delivered a walk-off single off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran.
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Heriberto Hernandez tied the game with a single earlier in the inning and later scored the winning run.
The victory prevented a fifth consecutive sweep for the Marlins, who had not won since July 9 against Seattle.
Miami manager Clayton McCullough compared the team's struggles to Homer's epic poem before the game.
"I feel a bit like Odysseus," McCullough said. "Like I'm away from home for 10 years.
At some point, I'm going to return home."
The Marlins fell behind early after Bryce Harper hit a two-run home run in the first inning.
Miami responded with five unanswered runs against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler before Philadelphia regained the lead in the sixth.
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"Everybody feels good," McCullough said. "It's no lie everyone in the building has been grinding hard now for a couple of weeks."
The manager noted the psychological shift after the divisional win.
"Everybody is going to leave here tonight feeling much different," McCullough said.
Conine, who also homered in the first inning, reflected on the team's struggles during the skid, when Miami batted .
208 with a . 607 OPS.
"I've never been a part of anything like the last two weeks," Conine said. "It felt like we were never going to win again."
The Marlins entered the All-Star break at 52-42 holding a wild-card spot before losing 11 of their next 12 games by three runs or less.
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"As far as what this does, pressure's off," Conine said. "Now we're on a winning streak."
