As Marlins take series over Phillies, Brian Anderson impresses in first start in left field
Brian Anderson knew the scouting report. He knew Didi Gregorious, a left-handed hitter, likes to slap the ball to the opposite field with two strikes.
So when Gregorious sent that second-inning flyball toward left field with a runner on first base, Anderson was ready.
He sprinted into foul territory, just beyond the left field line, and slid feet first to make the catch before making a throw that clocked at 90.4 mph that nearly doubled up Kyle Schwarber at first base.
“I was able to get a beat on it,” Anderson said.
It was the first of several plays Anderson made in his first career start in left field for the Miami Marlins in their 11-3, series-clinching win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday at loanDepot park.
The Marlins are using Anderson as a utility player this season, deploying him at third base and the corner outfield spots to maximize matchups and to rotate players in and out of the field.
Anderson, who entered the season with 144 career starts in right field but none since 2019 as Miami used him exclusively at third base, has been putting in extra work pregame to get re-acclimated to the position. He was shagging balls with outfield coach Keith Johnson pregame Sunday, something he has done frequently dating back to spring training.
“Just to make me feel comfortable,” Anderson said. “Not really that [Johnson] felt like I needed to do a lot, but just getting comfortable with being around the wall. I think that’s one thing. You start hitting the warning track and you don’t really know where the wall is.”
All told, Anderson had seven fly balls and line drives hit his way. Five resulted in outs. The other two were hits by Bryce Harper — a third-inning single that fell in front of Anderson and an eighth-inning double that went to the wall with Anderson tracking it down and quickly getting the throw to second base.
“I love the aggressiveness,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
That can apply to Anderson’s production at the plate, too. After going just 2 for 15 with eight strikeouts on the Marlins’ season-opening road trip, Anderson reached base seven times over his two starts against the Phillies on Saturday and Sunday.
“Just trying to stay back a little bit more, allowing me to see the ball a little bit longer,” Anderson said. “I’m able to kind of make my decision to swing a little bit later and I’m able to lay off some of those tough pitches.”
Cooper OK
For a second time in the span of a week, first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper avoided a major injury scare.
Cooper, who did not start Sunday, was removed from the Marlins’ loss on Saturday with a left elbow contusion stemming from a collision with teammate Jon Berti on a first-inning rundown attempt. It’s the same elbow Cooper had surgery on last August to repair a partially torn UCL.
But Cooper hit in the batting cage pregame and was available off the bench.
“Just more preventative than anything yesterday,” Cooper said. “When you jam your elbow and you just had surgery on it, you’re a little more reserved than anything.”
The latest injury scare came after he was hit by a pitch on the left wrist in the Marlins’ series finale against the San Francisco Giants on April 10.
This story was originally published April 17, 2022 at 6:37 PM.
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