Villar’s home run, Anderson’s defense and more from the Marlins’ spring win over the Mets
It took until his fifth spring training game and his 12th plate appearance, but Jonthan Villar recorded his first hit in a Miami Marlins uniform on Sunday when he belted out a two-run home run to open scoring in the 7-1 win over the New York Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
Villar, with a 2-1 count, took New York Mets reliever Pedro Payano’s 82 mph curveball and turned it over the right-field fence in the fifth inning.
“His swing has gotten better as camp has gone on,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He wasn’t playing a lot early. But as camp has gone on, you see the swing coming. To me, he’s one of the veteran guys that you know knows how to get ready. You’re not worried exactly about the result.”
The home run is also a reminder that Villar, who last season stole 40 bases for the Baltimore Orioles, can impact the game in multiple ways.
“He’s a guy who does a little bit of everything,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He steals bags. He hits for average. He’s got some power.”
Now, the Marlins need to see if he has enough versatility defensively to play effectively in the outfield. Villar is a natural middle infielder, but Miami is experimenting this spring with him starting in center field.
Brian Anderson’s defense
The Marlins know they are going to get sound defense from Brian Anderson whether he is playing at third base or in right field.
He showed a couple flashy plays at the hot corner Sunday.
First, in the second inning, he snatched a line drive from Max Moroff and flipped the ball to Sean Rodriguez at second base to double up catcher Tomas Nido for a double play. In the sixth, he bare-handed a groundball from Amed Rosario down the third-base line and fired a throw to Jesus Aguilar at first for the first out of the frame.
More Marlins notables
▪ Mattingly on second baseman Isan Diaz: You see him coming in that progression. He’s like other guys. You’d love to see the guys just crushing right away and crush all spring. More than anything, I want to see the progression, the quality of the at-bats. Does he have a plan up there? What’s he working on? What’s he staying with? All those things.”
▪ Lewis Brinson had two more hits on Sunday, a triple and an infield single. For spring, Brinson is 6 for 12 at the plate with the triple, two home runs, two RBI and five runs scored. He has not struck out.
▪ Aguilar showed solid discipline at the plate on Sunday, drawing two walks and ripping a single into right field.
▪ The Marlins travel to the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches on Monday to play the Washington Nationals. Pablo Lopez is scheduled to start for Miami.
This story was originally published March 1, 2020 at 5:18 PM.
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