Miami Marlins offense flat until too late in another loss to New York Mets
%20(3).JPG "Miami Marlins starting pitcher Braxton Garrett (60) reacts after giving up an RBI single to New York Mets’ Jeff McNeil in the second inning of a baseball game, Saturday, June 18, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)")
Jon Berti led off Saturday’s game against the New York Mets with an infield single before stealing both second and third base.
A potential early run was 90 feet away with one out in the opening frame.
Mets pitcher Taijuan Walker struck out all three hitters that followed Berti — Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jorge Soler and Garrett Cooper — to strand him at third base.
For the first six innings, Berti’s hit and moves on the basebaths were the only signs of life from the Marlins’ offense.
They finally broke up the shutout in the seventh and got within striking distance, but couldn’t overcome their early deficit in a 3-2 loss to the Mets at Citi Field. Miami has now lost three consecutive games and is at 28-35 on the season. The Mets are 44-23.
Walker retired 18 consecutive Marlins hitters following the leadoff single in the first to Berti. Half of those were via strikeout, including the final out in each of the first five innings.
Miami finally broke up the shutout in the seventh when Avisail Garcia hit a two-out double to right-center to score Chisholm, who led off the inning with a four-pitch walk and stole second.
But at that point, Miami was already playing from behind. The Mets scored three runs against Marlins starter Braxton Garrett on a Jeff McNeil RBI single in the second and a Francisco Lindor two-run home run in the third.
Jazz ejected
Chisholm was ejected after arguing a called strike 3 in the ninth inning on a 100.3 mph Edwin Diaz fastball that was well inside.
The strikeout came with the Marlins having a runner on third base after Berti singled, stole second and got to third on an error and no outs while trailing by two runs.
Soler then struck out before Cooper hit a two-out single to score Berti and put the Marlins within a run.
Garcia struck out swinging to end the game.
Lewin Diaz adjusts
Lewin Diaz faced a new challenge to begin his latest stint in the big leagues.
The Marlins’ first baseman prospect arrived at Citi Field about 15 minutes before first pitch on Friday after being recalled along with outfielder prospect Jerar Encarnacion after Jesus Aguilar and Jesus Sanchez were placed on the injured list before the start of the four-game series.
But Diaz’s equipment bag didn’t arrive on their flight in from Charlotte, forcing him to improvise.
On Friday, he used one of Bryan De La Cruz’s bats when he pinch-hit for designated hitter Willians Astudillo on Friday. He struck out in his first at-bat in the sixth inning before hitting a leadoff double and eventually scoring in the eighth.
Things were a little more complicated Saturday when he was penciled into the lineup as Miami’s starting first baseman. Diaz is the Marlins’ only lefty first baseman, so there wasn’t a first baseman’s glove for him to borrow. Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who also throws lefty, offered Diaz his outfielder glove he uses when helping during batting practice.
Luckily, a local Rawlings sent over a fresh glove for Diaz to use.
The one problem: It wasn’t broken in.
So Marlins first base and outfield coach Keith Johnson did what he could, hitting the glove against a wall and slamming on it with a bat.
“It’s not easy,” Diaz said pregame. “Once you get here, you want to play the game — you don’t have your stuff, you have to borrow equipment, so it’s not easy. It messes with the rhythm there. I’m still waiting for my bag.”
Diaz, considered the Marlins’ first baseman of the future, has played in 54 career MLB games across the 2020 and 2021 seasons. He has only hit .193 over that span, but he’s a potential Gold Glove defender and the Marlins are hopeful the left-handed hitter’s offense will translate to the big leagues. Diaz has hit .266 with 13 home runs and 52 RBI over 58 games with the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp this season.
“I just want to show that I can be a guy that can play this sport for many years on this level,” Diaz said. “If I get [sent] down later, I’m OK with that. I just want to show that I can do that, I can play here.”
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