How Owen Caissie has rewarded Marlins for showing confidence in him

MIAMI, FL—For Owen Caissie, who the Marlins acquired as the centerpiece in the trade that sent Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs, his first full season at the major league level has been filled with plenty of ups and downs. He had a .469 OPS in April, followed by a strong month of May with an .835 OPS, then another slow stretch during the first half of June. Friday against the San Francisco Giants was a showcase of his all-around potential. Caissie's three-RBI night was what the Marlins needed to take the series opener by a final score of 4-3, getting back to .500.

Caissie got things going right away in the bottom of the first inning, hitting his eighth home run of the season off Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp. It marked his third-longest home run of the season at 401 feet. He has now hit a home run in back-to-back games.

If you go on Caissie's Baseball Savant page, you may be surprised to notice that he ranks in the 78th percentile among MLB players in sprint speed. That came into play in the bottom of the third inning when he decided to bunt on the third pitch of the at-bat. He was clocked at 29.8 ft/sec running down the first base line and beat the throw to reach safely.

"I just felt like doing it," Caissie said postgame. "It was a horrible bunt I laid it down and just ran."

"If you see something where the defense is maybe giving you an opening there to be willing to take a shot, whether to get yourself on base to start an inning or move some guys around," McCullough said. "Owen maybe was trying to get that little further down the line, but he got it out there, and I applaud him and the other guys for thinking about the team."

Caissie only had 29 plate appearances against left-handed pitching going into Friday's series opener, posting a .192/.276/.269/.545 slash line and 58.6% strikeout rate. He was given an opportunity against Giants reliever Sam Hentges in the bottom of the seventh inning with runners on second and third. On the second pitch, Caissie hit a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Javier Sanoja and give the Marlins a 4-3 lead, which would be the difference.

The 23-year-old finished the game going 3-for-3 with three RBI and was a triple shy of the cycle.

"I love that they have confidence in me," Caissie said. "It gives me a lot of confidence that they can roll me every day, no matter what. It's honestly a blessing and I'm never going to take that for granted."

The Marlins had the option of going with Max Meyer as their starting pitcher, but opted to give him an extra day of rest and go with a bullpen game. That would work out, but things got dicey.

In the top of the second inning, Daniel Susac hit a sacrifice fly that tied the game, 1-1. Despite the Marlins taking a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning thanks to a Caissie's RBI double, Rafael Devers hit a game-tying 413-foot homer to the upper deck in right field. The Giants took a 3-2 lead in that same inning as Casey Schmitt hit an RBI single.

Thankfully, the Marlins got right back into it when Esteury Ruiz was hit by a pitch, Javier Sanoja knocked in a base hit and Liam Hicks found a hole on the right side of the infield for his 53rd RBI of the season.

Marlins closer Pete Fairbanks worked a 1-2-3 top of the ninth to notch save number 10 of the season and the 100th in his career. After a turbulent start to Fairbanks' season, he is finally beginning to settle in. On the season, he has a 6.43 ERA, 4.66 FIP, 4.32 xFIP, 12.43 K/9 and 4.71 BB/9.

"Watching videos from a few years past to make sure I'm hitting the checkpoints that I hit when I'm good," Fairbanks said. "I'm working pretty hard to make sure we're in the right spot, and I think we're doing a pretty good job. Obviously, you still have your ups and downs, but all in all, definitely feel like I'm having a real season, not an interrupted one from earlier in the year."

With the win, the Marlins remain two games out of the third and final National League Wild Card spot. They will look to get back to their series-winning ways on Saturday as Max Meyer takes the mound opposite of Trevor McDonald. First pitch is at 4:10 pm for what should be a well-attended game as loanDepot park celebrates Flanigan's Fest.