Jazz Chisholm Jr. provides needed jolt, but Miami Marlins lose 50th game of season
Jazz Chisholm Jr. sprinted around the bases in the fifth inning, his light blue helmet falling off as he approached third base and Trey Hillman signaled for him to make his way to home plate. Chisholm, purple hair and all, slid head first to complete the 360-foot run for an inside-the-park home run and stayed there for seven seconds relishing the cheers from the crowd as he used his blend of power and speed to help the Miami Marlins get back within striking distance of the Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
But the celebration quickly went somber as Chisholm realized the primary reason for his latest electric highlight of the season coming to fruition.
The Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. laid motionless in right field. His right knee buckled after leaping in an attempt to catch Chisholm’s fly ball as it neared the warning track. Acuna landed awkwardly after the leap, crashed into the wall and fell to the ground. The Braves announced Saturday night that Acuna tore the ACL in his right knee and will undergo season-ending surgery.
“He made a big-time effort to try and catch that,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after the 5-4 loss at loanDepot park, one that drops them to 38-50 on the season. “It just happened so quick.”
A 12-minute injury delay followed Chisholm’s home run as the Braves’ athletic training staff tended to the outfielder. Acuna attempted to walk to the dugout under his own power with a noticeable limp but only made it halfway to the infield from the warning track in right field before stopping and sitting back down. He was eventually carted off the field.
“Before the game, we were talking about who was going to hit a home run today,” Chisholm said of Acuna. “For it to come at that expense, it sucks. ... The way that I got my home run was because he got hurt. Hopefully he gets better. A guy like that, him getting injured, the baseball world is going to miss him if he’s out for a long time.”
Chisholm’s inside-the-park home run was the first for the Marlins since J.T. Riddle on May 29, 2018, and the first at home since J.T. Realmuto on Sept. 8, 2015.
It also nearly started a Marlins rally. Miami’s next three hitters — Garrett Cooper, Jesus Sanchez and Jesus Aguilar — all singled to load the bases with one out. Max Fried, however, struck out Jon Berti and Jorge Alfaro to end the inning, strand all three runners and keep Miami’s deficit at two.
“That one stings a little bit,” Mattingly said. “You feel like you need to at least get one out of that.”
The Marlins got to within one run when Chisholm two-out RBI single in the ninth scored Magneuris Sierra. Cooper came feet from a walk-off home run but the ball died at the end of the warning track in center field to seal the Marlins’ third consecutive loss.
Freddie Freeman drove in three runs for the Braves on an RBI single in the third and a two-run home run in the fifth. Atlanta (44-44) also scored a pair of runs in the fourth on a Dansby Swanson double and Guillermo Heredia sacrifice fly.
Miami went 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left eight runners on base.
Evaluating Trevor Rogers’ start
Trevor Rogers needed 81 pitches to get through four innings in his final start before heading to Denver for the All-Star Game. The rookie left-handed pitcher held the Braves to three runs (two earned runs) on four hits and two walks while striking out four in the outing.
A few things to note about Rogers’ start:
▪ His four innings pitched were tied for the fewest in a start this season, matching only his season debut on April 5 against the Cardinals.
▪ Saturday marked the fourth consecutive start in which Rogers did not throw at least six innings after hitting that mark in nine of his first 14 starts.
▪ Rogers’ fastball velocity averaged just 93.7 mph, his third-lowest mark of the season.
Rogers enters the All-Star Break with a 2.31 ERA, 122 strikeouts against 34 walks and a .204 batting average against over 101 1/3 innings in 18 starts. The Marlins have said they want to keep him around 175 innings for the season.
Other notables
▪ The Marlins have played 29 games decided by one run this season. They are 9-20 in those games.
▪ Center fielder Starling Marte was a late scratch from the Marlins’ lineup as he tended to personal matters. Magneuris Sierra started in Marte’s place and batted eighth.
▪ Adam Duvall, who started in left field, left the game after the fourth inning with mild intercostal soreness. Sanchez replaced him. Duvall went 2 for 2 with a double and a two-run single before being taken out of the game.
▪ Prior to the game, the Marlins added relief pitcher Preston Guilmet to the active roster and designated for assignment Shawn Morimando, who threw five innings on Friday.
Up next
The Marlins wrap up their series with the Braves and their schedule before the All-Star Break at 1:10 p.m. Sunday. Pablo Lopez is scheduled to start for the Marlins against the Braves’ Ian Anderson.
The MLB All-Star Futures Game also takes place on Saturday at Coors Field, with first pitch in the seven-inning showcase of top prospects set to start at 3 p.m. Two Marlins pitchers — Max Meyer and Jake Eder — are on the roster for the National League’s team.
This story was originally published July 10, 2021 at 7:47 PM.
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