‘RBI guy’ Aguilar getting on base and getting clutch hits but Marlins drop sixth straight
.JPG "Miami Marlins’ Jesus Aguilar hits an RBI single during the third inning of a baseball game against the San Diego Padres, Thursday, May 5, 2022, in San Diego.")
Jesus Aguilar is starting to feel more like himself at the plate.
The results are showing that.
With his two-run home run in the Marlins’ 3-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Friday, Aguilar has reached base in 20 consecutive games, which is tied with Boston Red Sox’s J.D. Martinez for the longest streak this season.
In that span, Aguilar is hitting .329 (23 for 70) with one double, three home runs, 14 RBI, seven runs scored, 14 walks and three sacrifice flies. He has multiple hits in six of those outings.
“He’s looked a lot more like himself,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “You see his swing is getting better. His takes are better. He looks like he’s on a lot of pitches. He’s been coming and he’s in a good spot.”
And his hits as of late have come in big situations to keep Miami in games over the course of their current six-game losing skid, a stretch that includes five consecutive one-run losses.
He had two-run singles in the seventh inning both Monday and Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks that cut Miami’s deficit to one run each time. He had a three-hit outing in Wednesday’s loss, including a home run in the seventh that got the Marlins within a run. His RBI single in the third inning on Thursday against the Padres tied the game before Manny Machado hit a go-ahead home run an inning later.
And then his 409-foot home run to left field in the sixth inning on Friday broke up Miami’s shutout and put them within one run, 3-2, of the Padres.
“I’m feeling better right now,” said Aguilar, who is hitting .375 with runners in scoring position. “I’m seeing the ball better. Hopefully I keep going now.”
It’s a return to the form that he had last season, when he was among the National League leaders with 93 RBI before sustaining a season-ending left knee injury in September.
“This is an RBI guy,” Mattingly said. “He’s able to take what the pitcher gives him. He’s always been a hit-first guy for me. He’ll take his hits to right field and he knows how a guy’s pitching him. He has a good understanding of that.”
Roster moves
The Marlins on Friday placed third baseman/outfielder Brian Anderson on the injured list and recalled outfielder Bryan De La Cruz to the active roster one day after optioning him to Triple A Jacksonville.
The team did not give an explicit reason for Anderson’s IL placement, which points to the move being related in some way to COVID-19. Teams do not have to formally say when a roster move is related to COVID-19 and the Marlins generally explain the reasoning for IL stints otherwise.
Anderson is hitting .258 with five doubles, one home run and 13 runs scored through 20 games played this season. He has made 10 starts at third base, three in left field and five in right field while also coming off the bench twice.
De La Cruz has primarily been used as a late-inning replacement although he has started four games in center field and one apiece in left field and right field. He has a .316 batting average with five RBI and three runs scored over the course of 25 plate appearances this season.
The Marlins had sent De La Cruz to Triple A prior to the start of the series with the Padres on Thursday to add right-handed relief pitcher Tommy Nance to the active roster to fortify a bullpen that had thrown a combined 17 1/3 innings over a four-game stretch before the start of the road trip.
“We were in our bullpen pretty good,” Mattingly said. “We didn’t want to end up getting caught in a bad game and really mess it up.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 9:21 PM.
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