NYY 3, MIA 1; On a night of fun debuts, Marlins lose

Stars Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo began their Yankees careers, while Bryan De La Cruz and Brian Miller got their first taste of the big leagues.

LoanDepot Park welcomed its largest crowd of the season Friday night, and they were treated to a textbook case of 2021 Marlins baseball. The Yankees and Fish combined for only one extra-base hit—a go-ahead Anthony Rizzo solo home run in the sixth—as the visitors held on to win, 3-1.

• Jameson Taillon—5.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 21.4 CSW% (98 pitches)
• Zach Thompson—5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 26.4 CSW% (87 pitches)

Rizzo reached base safely three times in his first game since being traded from the Cubs. Ex-Rangers star Joey Gallo had a quiet 0-for-4 performance with two strikeouts and a walk.

Marlins fans got introduced to young outfielders Bryan De La Cruz and Brian Miller. The former just arrived from the Astros on Wednesday in the Yimi García trade, while Miller has spent his entire professional career in the Marlins organization since being selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Despite nothing to show in terms of offensive production, De La Cruz made an interesting first impression. He’s got a good-looking swing and lots of defensive potential. The 24-year-old Dominican robbed Gary Sánchez of extra bases in the fourth inning with above-average speed and route-running.

Later on, he unleashed a long throw to home plate that Statcast tracked at 90 miles per hour (though it was inaccurate).

Miller had a pair of noteworthy plate appearances—battling Jameson Taillon for 13 pitches in the third inning before ultimately flying out, then recording his first career hit next time up on a sharp single to right field.

Through eight starts in the majors, Zach Thompson continues to legitimize himself. Even on a night when his control was lacking (season-low 56.3% strikes), the once-unheralded right-hander gave his team a great chance at the upset victory. He ranks third on the Marlins in both FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement and earned run average (min. 10 IP) since being called up on June 7.

The game wasn’t really lost on Rizzo’s homer, but rather on the decision to challenge Zach Pop with two inherited runners and a 1-0 deficit in the top of the eighth inning. Rougned Odor’s single up the middle against Pop tripled the New York advantage.

I don’t believe that Mattingly used Pop there because he had complete trust in him. Rather, we’ve reached the point of this frustrating season where the top priority is getting young, controllable players valuable experiences. Success or failure, they’ll learn from it, plus it provides the front office with more information to determine whether or not these guys can help the Marlins build an eventual contender.

It was comforting to see Jazz Chisholm Jr. (shoulder contusion) return from the 10-day injured list in his first game of eligibility. He batted in the No. 3 lineup spot and went 2-for-4. Packaged with De La Cruz in the Yimi García deal, Austin Pruitt worked a scoreless ninth inning.

Domingo Germán takes the mound for the Yanks on Saturday. He carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his previous start. The Marlins will be wearing their wonderful Cuban Sugar Kings-inspired City Connect uniforms. It’ll be a 6:10 p.m. first pitch.

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Baseball Savant

Fish Picks Answer Key

1. Yankees
2. Under
3. Over
4. Yes
5. Yankees