Bonifacio Leading Marlins Resurgence

MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Florida Marlins have been on a tear in the month of July after completing one of the worst June's in baseball history. The Fish are currently 11-4 in July and have been getting a lift from everyone on the roster, especially the lead-off spot in the batting order.

Utility man Emilio Bonifacio has been on a tear for the last seventeen games. Bonifacio has hit safely in all seventeen games and is batting .394 during that stretch.

"It's helped us win games and that's the important thing," Bonifacio told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. "I haven't had the long term in mind, just going game to game and day to day."

Bonifacio's solid hitting has helped spark the Marlins offense, which took most of the month of June off. In July, the Marlins have been held below two runs just three times. During that time, the Fish have started crawling out of the cellar and are just ½ game back of the New York Mets.

This season, Bonifacio is hitting better than .300 at home and .273 on the road. In July, Bonifacio is hitting better than .400 and has also stolen 10 bases this season. As the leadoff batter in the lineup, Bonifacio is hitting .328.

Bonifacio is also working counts to his advantage. For the season, when Bonifacio has gotten ahead in the count, he's hitting .403.

Through all of his hitting improvements at the top of the order, Bonifacio is now hitting .290 for the season and could steal more than 30 bases this year for the Fish.