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Marcell Ozuna moves to cleanup spot

ANAHEIM -- After watching his lineup come up short in Denver more often than he would have liked, manager Mike Redmond decided it was time to shake things up -- moving Marcell Ozuna into the cleanup position and dropping Casey McGehee into the fifth spot -- as the Marlins prepared to open a three-game series against the Angels.

"He's driving in runs and getting big hits," Redmond said of Ozuna, "and it seems like a perfect time to get our hottest hitter behind 'G' (Giancarlo Stanton). We've had a tough time driving in those runs, and we need to drive those runs in to win ballgames."

After enjoying a huge first half when he led the majors in hitting with runners in scoring position, McGehee has been unable to match that success the second half. He's drive in only two runs since July 27. Ozuna, on the other hand, has been on a tear, hitting .478 (11 for 23 with three homers) over the past seven games.

"When you've got a guy swinging the bat like 'O,' you try to get him in situations where he can drive in the most amount of runs," Redmond said. "Maybe that'll help 'G' get a few more pitches to hit."

Redmond said the lineup shuffling might also help get McGehee back on track, too.

"Sometimes just moving a spot makes a difference, gets him going, and gets him back on track," Redmond said.

While Ozuna hasn't hit cleanup this season, he spent a fair amount of time in the fourth spot as a rookie last season. He hit .255 (42 for 165), but had a low OPS of .637 and did not homer when hitting in the fourth spot.

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 With another off day looming on Thursday, Redmond said he'll only use his top four starters until he has to turn to a fifth -- either Brad Hand or Brad Penny -- on Tuesday of next week.

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 Jeff Baker had a solid series at the plate in Denver. But it was another story entirely whenever he was required to put his body in motion.

Baker came out of two of his starts due to sinus issues that he believes were made even worse by the altitude. Baker, who went 4 for 10 with three doubles in the Rockies series, was taken out of Friday's and Sunday's games when the sinus pressure became unbearable.

"Anytime there is exertion, the heart rate goes up from running around and the pressure builds up," Baker said. "The pressure around my right eye was so bad (Sunday) that I couldn't see. It's scary. It gets bad."

After he doubled and scored in Sunday's seventh inning, Baker was replaced at second by Donovan Solano in the Rockies' seventh.

"Hopefully in Anaheim it'll be good," said Baker, who was in Monday's starting lineup.

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Tonight's lineups:

Marlins: 1. Christian Yelich 7; 2. Jeff Baker 3; 3. Giancarlo Stanton 9; 4. Marcell Ozuna 8; 5. Casey McGehee 5; 6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia 2; 7. Adeiny Hechavarria 6; 8. Donovan Solano 4; 9. Reed Johnson DH. Pitching: Jarred Cosart.

Angels: 1. Kole Calhoun 9; 2. Mike Trout 8; 3. Albert Pujols 3; 4. Josh Hamilton dh; 5. Howie Kendrick 4; 6. David Freese 5; 7. Erick Aybar 6; 8. Chris Iannetta 2; 9. Collin Cowgill 7. Pitching: Wade LeBlanc.

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