Recapping games one and two in the Valley of the Sun.
Having squeaked out a win in a marathon game Sunday in Chicago, the Marlins brought their exhausted bullpen to the desert to face the 19-15 Diamondbacks. With Zac Gallen on the bump for the opposition, it went pretty much exactly as you would’ve expected. They then went on to face the right-handed rookie making just his second appearance in the big leagues, Brandon Pfaadt. (Pronounced: FOUGHT) Let’s break it all down.
NOTE: Both games will be in one article because I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow last night.
Game 1: Marlins 2, Diamondbacks 5
Gallen was on his game from the jump as he set down the first six Marlins in order. Jesus Sanchez and Gabriel Moreno traded doubles in the third, each stranded on third base. The Diamondbacks scored a run in the bottom of the fourth as a double by Christian Walker drove home Emmanuel Rivera, who singled. A double by Jesus Sanchez, his second of the game, drove home Nick Fortes to tie the game at 1 in the fifth. The tie did not last long.
Jean Segura was ejected from the game in the top of the sixth inning after arguing a called third strike. After the game, he was almost in tears when describing how terrible he felt about how poorly he had played to begin the season. Skip Schumaker hinted that it might be time for Jean to take a few days off to reset himself.
Braxton Garrett got the first out in the sixth inning with a flyout by Rivera, then was taken deep by Christian Walker to make it 2-1. Singles by Evan Longoria and Pavin Smith would bring Braxton’s outing to a close. Andrew Nardi came on in relief and allowed his first inherited runners to score this season. Gabriel Moreno drove in Longoria, and Ketel Marte drove in Smith. 4-1 Diamondbacks. They plated one more in the seventh off of Chi Chi Gonzalez and allowed one Marlins run to score in the top of the ninth for a final score of 5-2.
Braxton Garrett’s Final Line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 87/57 P/S.
After the game, Skip said that Braxton put the team in a position to win, and the offense couldn’t get much going off Zac Gallen.
Now on to happier times.
Game 2: Marlins 6, Diamondbacks 2
With Jean Segura getting some much-needed days off, Jesus Luzardo on the hill, and a rookie on the other side, Tuesday’s game was much more enjoyable for the Fish. They wasted no time giving Luzardo some run support as Jazz sent the game’s first pitch into right field, stole second base, and came around to score on Luis Arraez’s single. That single extended Arraez’s hitting streak to 12 games. Jesus Sanchez hit the first of what would be two more opposite-field doubles to put runners on the corners, but they would be stranded as Yuli Gurriel flew out to end the inning.
It got even better in the second inning as a double off the wall by Jon Berti and a walk by Jazz set the table for Jorge Soler with two outs. Soler sent the 1-1 fastball deep, far, and very gone. 112.5 MPH, 28 DEG, 468 FT. That home run tied for the longest statcast-tracked home run of his career. 4-0 Marlins.
Jesus Luzardo kept the Diamondbacks at bay with three scoreless innings to begin the game. He got into some trouble in the fourth, allowing a one-out walk to come around and score but worked out of it with some help from Jon Berti and stranded the bases loaded to end the inning.
The Marlins’ offense went down quietly in the third and fourth inning but were back to their old tricks in the fifth. Jazz led off the inning with a walk and then stole second, and Soler sent a 3-2 slider into the seats in left field. His second of the game, ninth of the season. 110.7 MPH, 34 DEG, 433 FT. 6-1 Marlins.
That was all they would need. Luzardo worked around some trouble in the sixth inning to notch another scoreless inning and complete his outing.
Luzardo’s Final Line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 104/60 P/S.
That is exactly what the Marlins needed out of Zeus. Huascar Brazoban breezed through a 1-2-3 seventh inning and gave way to Matt Barnes in the eighth. Barnes ran into some trouble in his inning, giving up a solo home run to Evan Longoria to make it 6-2 and a single to Nick Ahmed. He induced a groundout to end the inning and send the game to the ninth with the Marlins up by four. Dylan Floro slammed the door by inducing a 1-6-3 double play to prevent the runners on the corners from causing any trouble. Marlins win 6-2.
Noah’s Notes and What’s Next
- Apologies for combining these into one article; jetlag is a terrible illness.
- For the first time in my life, I am west of the Mississippi River.
- Notable Marlins hitting streaks: Arraez, 12 games; De La Cruz, six games; Sanchez, four games.
- The Phoenix area has some gorgeous views.
- Jesus Sanchez had two opposite-field doubles in both of these two games. Five doubles in the last three games.
- There is even a light rail!!! (Which I have been taking to/from the ballpark daily, obviously.)
- Edward Cabrera vs. Merrill Kelly in the rubber match on Wednesday.
- Matinee baseball kicks off at 12:40 PM MST (3:40 PM EDT).
- You’re stuck with me on the coverage for the last of this road trip!
- ‘Til Tmrw
- Today? Ah, screw it… I have no idea what “time” is anymore…