A Forgotten Heartbreak: Miami Marlins vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Recap

June 18, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt (44) hits a walk off home run to beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Last night was Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. I am a Miami native so of course I was glued to the TV watching what would end up being one of the best playoff games I have ever seen.

At the same time however, I watched the Miami Marlins lose a heart-breaker in the bottom of the ninth inning. While I am sure that most Marlins fans were busy watching the Heat, its my duty to recap what ended up being a positive game for the Marlins beside the fact that they lost.

Returning from a 2 1/2 long month stint on the disabled list, Nathan Eovaldi pitched an excellent game and kept the Diamondback bats quiet for the most part. Eovaldi consistently threw the ball well and his variety of pitches should make him a deadly pitcher in the near future. While he did struggle with control at times, he is much improved from his limited stint last year with the Marlins.

Through the first three innings, this game was pretty quiet. The only thing that happened that was important was how close the Marlins were to score in the first. With a man on first and second and no outs, we were in a good position to score some early runs but in typical Marlins fashion they were not able to bring the runners in. The Marlins outhit the Diamondbacks 8 to 5, but they were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Derek Dietrich got an RBI triple to break the 0-0 tie in the fourth and the resurgent bat of Adeiny Hechavarria brought Dietrich home with an RBI single. That was all the Marlins offense could muster in this game.

After his two home-run game the night before, Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Logan Morrison went 2 for 4, and Adeiny Hechavarria finished the game as the Marlins best hitter with a 3 for 4 performance, but he made a bone head move by trying to extend a double into a triple and he got called out .  Honestly with the way Eovaldi was pitching the game should have been sealed after the fourth inning runs.

However in the bottom of the fourth, Nathan Eovaldi ran into trouble. He first walked Jesus Montero, showing the control problems he has dealt with, and then gave a pitch over the plate to Martin Prado who smacked it over the wall for a Home Run.

Damn it, we were so close.

With a 2-2 tie, nothing really happened until the ninth inning. Eovaldi lasted until the sixth inning and he only gave up 3 hits in the game. AJ Ramos pitched two solid innings of relief and for a while it looked this game was going to extras. Chad Qualls came out to pitch the bottom of the ninth and his leadoff batter was Paul Goldschmidt.

Oh oh.

Qualls needed to be careful with this batter, he needed to pitch inside or away and not give Goldschmidt anything to hit. Whats the second pitch of the at bat?

A pitch that was up and over the plate. Needless to say Paul Goldschimdt connected off the pitch but it was more than a hit. It was a mammoth of a Home Run, going way over the center field Home Run line and ending the once promising Marlins night in defeat. The Diamondbacks rushed onto to the field to greet their star player.

While the Marlins lost the game, there pitching was excellent, for the most part,  and they had flashes of offensive brilliance, but their youth was showing throughout the entire game. Its games like this though where once this team gets some more experience under their belts, there going to be a very dangerous and challenging team

Up next: The Rubber Match between the Marlins and Diamondbacks in Arizona. The Marlins send out their star rookie Jose Fernandez while the Diamondbacks bring out Trevor Cahill to counter.