Victor Mesa Jr. 'a lot more relaxed' during second MLB stint and now seeing the results

MIAMI, FL—On the day Victor Mesa Jr. turned 24 years old, he gave himself a pretty great birthday present by hitting his first career home run. In the eighth inning on Monday night, with runners on first and second, Mesa took Washington Nationals lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara deep. The ball left the bat at 102.1 mph and went 394 feet into the second deck in right field. The game was already out of hand, however, in what was ultimately a 15-7 Marlins loss.

Mesa became the first Marlins player and the seventh MLB player in the Wild Card Era (since 1995) to hit their first career home run on their birthday. Throughout franchise history, 15 Marlins have homered on their birthday.

"It's a lot of feelings right now, to be honest," said Mesa after the game. "I was a little bit disappointed because I felt like I could've been better on the first days out here, but obviously, here right now, taking it day by day, trying to support the team as much as I can. Thank God I got a great day on my birthday. It's better than what I could've dreamed of. This is a dream come true, to be honest, and a day I'll never forget."

Mesa Jr., who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville on August 31, also recorded multiple hits in a game for the first time as a Marlin. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he smacked a 104.8 mph double off of Nationals starter Cade Cavalli. That was tied for the hardest-hit ball of his young career.

Mesa previously spent five days at the major league level in late May, but when it was clear that consistent playing time wouldn't be available, the Marlins sent him back down to Jacksonville. He only recorded one hit during that brief stint.

"The initial first few games, someone comes up, there's so much emotion," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Your feet are off the ground for most of it."

"At least you already have the first experience," said Mesa pregame in an exclusive interview with Fish On First. "At the end of the day, this is the big leagues, so every day you see something new that you need to adapt to. I've felt a lot better, a lot more relaxed. This time, I know what to do...I feel like I've adapted a lot more and I give a lot of credit to my teammates who have helped me."

Through 11 MLB games, Mesa is now slashing .238/.360/.429/.789 with one home run and four RBI.

Mesa has been limited to 57 total games this season across all levels due to a series of minor injuries. The "bad luck" has frustrated him at times.

"Last year, it was a stress fracture, which could happen, but then this year it was even more weird—it was a wart in the foot and it's something I can't even control. But what I can control is what I've been doing every day because I know the hard work that I'm putting in and the talent that I have...I just turned 24. I feel that I can do a long career here, or at least that's my goal. I'm focused right now and control what I can control."

Janson Junk, who was just activated off the injured list after missing a couple starts with right ulnar nerve irritation, surrendered six earned runs (tying a season-high), walking two and striking out three. His fastball averaged 93.1 mph and topped out at 94.7 mph.

"It just wasn't as crisp as we've seen him, especially in that fifth inning," McCullough said. "Just seemed like he started to lack some finish to some of his pitches. Balls got elevated, they were able to put some good swings on. Not as efficient as we've accustomed to seeing him. They did a good job swinging the bats and I think there was just some mislocated pitches and maybe just not the life on the stuff there, especially towards the back half of the outing."

Former Marlin Josh Bell had himself quite the game, going 4-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI.

With the loss, the Marlins are now 66-78 on the season. Adam Mazur takes the ball for them on Tuesday. Mitchell Parker, whose 5.87 ERA is the highest among all qualified MLB starters this season, will toe the rubber for Washington. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.