Marlins’ Jake Burger gets his ‘storybook ending’ with walk-off home run vs White Sox

The Miami Marlins ended its series against the Chicago White Sox in the most poetic manner. Tied with runners on first and second and two outs, former White Sox third baseman Jake Burger was up to bat, hoping to deliver a series win against his old team.

“Stepping up into the box, I’m thinking, ‘This is kind of a storybook ending with my history with the Sox,’” Burger said.

Despite Burger’s 2-for-10 performance this series entering the at-bat, the 6-2 slugger delivered the shot that mattered most – hitting a towering three-run home run to left-center to bring Miami a 7-4, walk-off victory to clinch the series.

“I think in that scenario, [my mindset is that] the last four at-bats don’t mean anything. Just try to win as many pitches as you can.” Burger said. “I was fortunate to get a pitch I could do something with.”

Burger’s home run came off reliever Michael Kopech, someone Burger knows well from his time in Chicago.

“[Kopech] is an awesome pitcher and an awesome person,” the third baseman said. “Him and I spent a lot of time rehabbing together. Obviously it’s a cool moment, but it’s also [against] a good friend.”

While Burger’s hit will soak all the attention, this series featured other notable storylines.

Here are three takeaways from the game and series.

Edward Cabrera returns

Coming into this season, right-handed Cabrera was projected to be a huge part of the Marlins’ starting rotation. While a right shoulder injury in May caused the Dominican pitcher to miss two months of action, Sunday was Cabrera’s first day back from the injured list.

The 26-year-old threw with a lot of velocity, with his fastball lingering in the 96-98 mph range, while his changeup also clocked in around 92-93 mph.

But despite the velocity, the Dominican product lacked good command with his pitches.

“I thought he was okay,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker. “I thought 40 percent first-pitch strikes is not ideal. I think with his stuff, he just needs to throw it over the plate and then see what happens.”

The 6-5 pitcher also had a lot of help from his defense, with Jazz Chisholm r. and Nick Gordon making tough catches to limit damage in the first and second innings respectively.

Eventually the White Sox were able to get on the scoreboard, as a two-run home run from Danny Mendick put them up 2-0.

It was the first time Cabrera has pitched in the big leagues in two months, so the struggles weren’t unusual. But getting back into the rhythm of playing in the majors should only help the 26-year-old go deeper into ball games.

“[Finally starting] without pitching for a while in the big leagues feels really good,” Cabrera said. “I went through many games with Jacksonville just attacking the zone, and that’s pretty much what I want to do here.”

New bats emerge on offense

It’s no secret that the Marlins have struggled offensively this season, ranking dead last in the MLB in home runs, on-base percentage and slugging. But a couple of new bats have emerged in the lineup these past three days.

After making his MLB debut last year, right fielder Dane Myers has been no more than a utility player for the Marlins. The 6-0, 205 pound outfielder has made sporadic starts this season but has only started a handful of games while playing behind right fielder Jesus Sanchez.

However, Myers came through in a big way on offense during this series, tallying a .500 batting average (5 for 10). Myers’ most noteworthy hit came in Game 2, when he launched a breaking ball to over the wall in left-center field for a go-ahead two-run home run.

At shortstop, Xavier Edwards did not disappoint either– accumulating five hits and bringing his batting average up to .313. While most of Edwards’ base hits were singles, he did hit a double ON Sunday.

Bullpen remains the highlight of the team

Despite five starting pitchers on the IL right now, the Marlins gave up just 10 earned runs against the White Sox. The Marlins bullpen had racked up 359 innings entering Sunday, ranked fourth overall in the league. While the White Sox could never be confused for a good hitting team, ranking second-to-last in the league in OPS, Miami’s performance was nonetheless impressive considering the injuries.

While the Marlins starting pitchers often ran into trouble early in games, the middle relievers, set-up men and closers all stepped up. During this series, a total of eight pitchers from the bullpen went 16 1/3 innings, giving up just four earned runs.

Schumaker previously stated that he wants to decrease his reliance on the bullpen, but with Miami’s injuries, it seems likely that the relievers will take on a bulk of the innings going forward.