The Marlins gave their fans plenty to be excited about on this special holiday.
The Miami Marlins entered the Fourth of July coming off a dramatic comeback win over the Cardinals. Victory was never in doubt on Tuesday afternoon as the offense looked unstoppable en route to a 15-2 win and putting the team 13 games over .500.
The Marlins immediately looked comfortable at the plate against Cardinals veteran Adam Wainwright. It started in the first inning with a Luis Arraez single. After that, Jorge Soler ripped a double to put runners on second and third. The first pitch that Jesús Sánchez saw from Wainwright was a hanging curveball that he jumped on, sending the ball 418 ft. and giving the Marlins a 3-0 lead. This was his eighth home run of the year.
Manager Skip Schumaker marveled at the homer postgame, saying, “You know this ballpark—that’s not easy to put them out there.”
Garrett Cooper extended the lead in the third by hitting a solo shot to right-center field in the third.
Then in the fourth, the Marlins began putting the game out of reach. Cooper struck again with the bases loaded, driving in two more runs with a single to left, which made it 7-0.
The hitting wasn’t the only thing to remember from today. On the mound for the Marlins was Jesús Luzardo, He worked through this Cardinals order very effectively. His day started off efficiently with a seven-pitch first inning, but in each of the next four innings, runners reached base and got into scoring position. Even with this traffic, Luzardo showed no signs of worry—he made some great pitches in crucial situations and also used a nifty pickoff move to steal an out.
Luzardo relied on his slider in many of these big spots and made the big pitch when he needed it. Luzardo was also able to rack up 8 strikeouts with his fastball and slider in route to his seventh win of the season.
Nick Fortes has caught all 18 of Luzardo’s starts this season. “He just knows the little things about me at this point,” Luzardo said about their relationship postgame. “When certain pitches are off and certain pitches are on, how to get me back on track.”
Dane Myers made his MLB debut, but it came under unfortunate circumstances due to an injury to Jonathan Davis. In the top of the fifth, Tommy Edman lined a ball to deep right-center field. Davis made a diving attempt, but couldn’t come up with it. Davis immediately held his right knee and was carted off the field.
X-rays after the game came back negative. He’s scheduled to undergo an MRI and additional tests, but for the moment, the Marlins are calling it a right knee contusion. Let’s hope for more good news about his status on Wednesday.
In his brief time with the Marlins, Davis has been described as an incredible teammate and a great guy to be around. He also brought so much more to the field than anyone expected when the Marlins acquired him earlier in the year. In place of an injured Jazz Chisholm Jr., Davis contributed great defense and speed out in center field and valuable situational hitting. Including this game, the Marlins are 20-7 in games that he has started.
On a more positive note, Dane Myers was able to get his first big league hit in the bottom of the seventh, which was an RBI single against reliever James Naile. This hit started another rally for the Marlins. Arraez walked and then Soler hit his second double of the game to bring in Myers and Arraez.
“Anytime you get your first major league hit after everything that he’s been through, position change and it’s just an incredible story,” Schumaker said.
The Marlins offense was fantastic, totaling 19 hits with 7 of those being for extra bases. They set a new season high with 15 runs scored. Sánchez, Soler, and Cooper each had three hits, while Myers, Jean Segura and Joey Wendle had two each.
What’s Next
Bryan Hoeing will take the mound for the Marlins on Wednesday looking for the series win. Hoeing will look to bounce back after giving up seven runs in his last outing. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.
Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins
Leave a Comment