Marlins make miraculous comeback, walk-off on the Rockies

[Isaac Azout]

The Marlins were three outs away from falling to 2-16 at home and 6-25 overall, but then a magical bottom of the ninth inning saved the Fish as they walked off for the first time in 2024. 

MIAMI -- The Colorado Rockies had a 99% chance to win on Tuesday night (according to Baseball Savant) as the game entered the bottom of the ninth. They led Miami 5-0 and Rockies starter Ryan Feltner threw eight shutout innings on just 77 pitches. He was well on his way to a "Maddux".  In a miraculous turn of events, Miami scored five in the 9th and two in the 10th to defeat the Rockies and come away with their first walk-off win of the season in front of 6,706 at loanDepot park.

The hero of the night was someone who wasn't even in the starting lineup: Dane Myers. 

In the bottom of the seventh inning, CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. was ejected by home plate umpire Jansen Visconti for arguing balls and strikes. It wasn't the first time that Visconti had ejected Chisholm. "I felt a lot of things weren't going our way, and I probably don't have a good history with this umpire. I just feel like it's every time with this guy," said Chisholm. 

Once Jazz was ejected, Dane Myers entered the game in center. "Me and Otto [López] were hitting in the cage and we saw Jazz go off and Otto was like 'hey, you gotta get out there,'" said Myers laughingly. 

Both teams were kept scoreless through eight after the Rockies' five-run first inning. Then came the bottom of the ninth, with Myers now in Jazz's spot in the lineup (third). Four consecutive batters -- Vidal Bruján, Christian Bethancourt, Luis Arraez, and Bryan De La Cruz -- reached base and loaded the bases for Myers in a now 5-1 game. Myers pounced on the first pitch for a two-run single to cut the deficit to two. 

A Josh Bell RBI single and Emmanuel Rivera sac-fly tied the game as Miami made it all the way back. "For anybody who says that we don't care, that [game] kind of proves them wrong," said manager Skip Schumaker postgame. The Rockies then scored a run in the top of the 10th against Tanner Scott and took a 6-5 lead, but Miami continued to persevere. 

Tim Anderson entered the game in the bottom of the frame as the placed runner at second base. After an Arraez flyout, Bryan De La Cruz drilled a clutch RBI double off Jalen Beeks to tie the game at six. Myers followed with his first career walk-off as he singled to right to snap Miami's seven-game losing streak.

Per Sarah Langs, Tuesday's thriller was the first game in MLB history with a 5+ run top of the first, a 5+ run bottom of the ninth, and no runs in between. 

"Definitely a cool moment. I know my wife, son and mom were in the stands so it was pretty cool to have the first one in front of them," said Myers. He also added that Chisholm was the first one to thank him after the game. "He knows he messed up but he's the first one to admit that. He's a good clubhouse guy and good teammate, so yeah, it feels good to pick up a guy like Jazz."

For a team that lost 24 times in March/April, a game like this could do wonders. "You hope it builds momentum. You hope you come in tomorrow feeling pretty good about it. Anytime you walk it off, you feel pretty good. It was a pretty incredible ending," added Schumaker.  

 

Sixto Sánchez

Sixto Sánchez made his second start of the season and his first at loanDepot park since September 18, 2020. Unfortunately for him, things didn't go his way early on as it only took six pitches for the Rockies to strike first. Sánchez allowed a total of six hits in the frame, highlighted by a massive two-run home run by Elehuris Montero to make it 5-0 in the first. 

"I felt pretty good out there. I know that's a team that attacks the zone, but I think I was staying in the zone too much. I was speeding myself up there a bit but I need to be a bit more calm and patient," said the right-hander postgame.

Following the rough first inning, Sánchez was able to settle in and complete four frames for the first time since his start in game two of the 2020 Wild Card Series. His final line: 4 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR. He threw 68 pitches, 53 for strikes. 

The Marlins improved to 7-24 while the Rockies fell to 7-22. Right-hander Roddery Muñoz is set to make his second career start on Wednesday night against Dakota Hudson. 

View full article

[THOMAS JOSEPH]

I suppose it is ok to be happy Chisholm was ejected - and not only because of the outcome here. Surely, Myers will have more playing time, as well he should. I listened to the X after-game show and wondered about some of Skip's moves myself. After all, if Schumaker gets high marks for last year's "success," doesn't he also have some level of responsibility for the team's non-physical issues this year? I do not subscribe to some level of strategic losing as a way to highlight the front office's moves or lack of moves. Managers have the single mission (for most of us) of winning, something that would be nearly miraculous after this start. Should he do so, or even significantly mitigate the poor start by the end of the season, his stock (i.e., career prospects) also significantly rise. Schumaker may pass small, between-the-lines slaps at Bendix and Sherman, but that's it. Accordingly, it is perfectly reasonable to question on-field actions.

[Ely Sussman]

3 hours ago, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

I suppose it is ok to be happy Chisholm was ejected - and not only because of the outcome here. Surely, Myers will have more playing time, as well he should. I listened to the X after-game show and wondered about some of Skip's moves myself. After all, if Schumaker gets high marks for last year's "success," doesn't he also have some level of responsibility for the team's non-physical issues this year? I do not subscribe to some level of strategic losing as a way to highlight the front office's moves or lack of moves. Managers have the single mission (for most of us) of winning, something that would be nearly miraculous after this start. Should he do so, or even significantly mitigate the poor start by the end of the season, his stock (i.e., career prospects) also significantly rise. Schumaker may pass small, between-the-lines slaps at Bendix and Sherman, but that's it. Accordingly, it is perfectly reasonable to question on-field actions.

Thanks for listening. Yeah, Skip must be held partially accountable for what's happened. He has been unacceptably complacent when it comes to keeping players in the same roles even when it's apparent that they're struggling. His default answer to the team's problems has been to work longer hours prior to the games.

There seems to be an absence of both creativity and data-driven insight right now. The best organizations use plenty of both to help players achieve peak performance.