Marlins victorious behind Myers' 3-RBI day

MIAMI, FL—In the seventh inning of a one-run ballgame with RHP Michael Soroka on the mound, Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker had plans of pinch-hitting the powerful and hot bat of Jesús Sánchez to start a rally for his ballclub. The only problem? The lefty was unavailable on Saturday due to hamstring soreness.

"If (Sánchez) was really available, I would have pinch-hit him" said Schumaker postgame. "That shows you how smart I am," he added jokingly.

The second-year manager laughs because that would have made Dane Myers a spectator. Instead, Myers took his turn in the cleanup spot and hammered a hanging slider 420 feet to put the Marlins in the lead. A.J. Puk and Tanner Scott recorded six consecutive outs to secure Miami the 4-3 win in game two of three against the MLB-worst Chicago White Sox.

For Myers, it was the climax of a great day at the plate. Against Garrett Crochet, one of the best starters in the American League, the 28-year-old recorded two hits on two impressive at-bats, with the second being an RBI single after fouling off three Crochet heaters in a row. After striking out to Soroka in the fifth on a slider, Myers was looking for that same spinner when he stepped up to the plate in the seventh.

"Just a hanging breaking ball. I took one of those in the first at-bat off of Soroka, so saw that one and didn't miss it."

In a riveting turn of events, the Marlins got to the aforementioned lefty Crochet. They had been an unfathomable 4-26 against left-handed starters this season. On Saturday, though, Miami's bats were able to draw long counts and hit 28 foul balls, leading to the removal of Crochet after just four innings of work. In addition to Myers' RBI, Vidal Bruján notched one of his own in the fourth.

"Good pitcher. Obviously his numbers are good. We were just trying to be aggressive on the fastball. He's got one of the best fastballs. Worked out for us today." Myers said of the Marlins approach at the plate.

Yonny Chirinos took the ball for Miami. In what is becoming the norm for the righty, he worked himself into multiple situations with runners on. Chirinos had mixed results. Chicago put runs on the board in the first and third, but that was all. In his fourth start, the 30-year-old kept his team in the contest, just as he did in his first three.

The unsung hero of Saturday's contest was Miami's bullpen. A trio of relievers combined for four dominant innings following Chirinos' departure.

Outside of the usually dominant Scott, Puk enjoyed an impressive 1-2-3 inning against the heart of Chicago's order.

When asked postgame what has worked since returning to the 'pen, Puk said it was "just a little transition going back from starting and going back to the bullpen. I kinda just lower my arm slot again, getting back to something more comfortable. That was the biggest, the mechanical change: throwing a different slot."

Schumaker praised Puk for reverting to his old slider grip and regaining velocity in the process, saying, "He went from an 83 mph slider to an 87 mph slider. That's a much different pitch. It's a much different break."

Sunday's series finale sees the return of Edward Cabrera to the Marlins rotation after a a two-month hiatus following a 60-day stint on the injured list with a right shoulder impingement. Rookie Jonathan Cannon, who owns a 4.62 ERA on the season, toes the slab for the South Siders. First pitch comes your way at 1:40 ET.