FanSided

Miami Marlins 7, Pirates 2: Bucs Get Shucked

By Kevin Kraczkowski |
JUPITER, FL - FEBRUARY 22: J. B. Shuck
JUPITER, FL - FEBRUARY 22: J. B. Shuck

The Miami Marlins opened their three-game home series with a resounding 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

With a paid crowd of 6,852 on hand at Marlins Park, Dillon Peters rebounded from a bad start to earn his second win of the season. In six innings, he allowed two runs on four hits and a pair of walks. He struck out three Bucs, and now has a career home ERA of 1.52. With 46 innings pitched at the major league level, he will no longer be considered a prospect after his next start, provided he completes at least four innings. Peters got 44-of-78 pitches over the plate in his win. For context, Jarlin Garcia got 44-of-77 over the plate in his six inning no-hit masterpiece on Wednesday.

Outfielder J.B. Shuck started for the Marlins in right field. It was his first major league appearance since October 2nd, 2016, with the Chicago White Sox. He started his night with a second inning one-out triple.

With Shuck on third, Lewis Brinson drew a walk and Chad Wallach struck out swinging. After Brinson stole second for his first stolen base of the season, Pirates starter Chad Kuhl uncorked a wild pitch. Shuck crossed the plate easily for an early 1-0 Marlins lead.

The score remained until the fifth inning. Corey Dickerson opened the frame with a single, then Elias Diaz (1) brought him home with a two-run shot to left-center field. In the bottom of the inning, Wallach opened with a single, then Peters landed on first after a failed sacrifice bunt attempt. Derek Dietrich singled to move Peters to second, and Miguel Rojas followed with another single to load the bases. That set the stage for what was, in effect, a three-run sacrifice fly by Starlin Castro.

The miscue by Pirates backup catcher Diaz was costly, and would prove the game-clinching play. But the Marlins weren’t done scoring yet. Shuck opened the sixth with his third hit of the night, followed by Brinson’s first hit of the week, breaking an 0-for-26 slump. Wallach attempted a sacrifice bunt, on which Shuck scored from second base when the Pirates didn’t cover home on the play. Justin Bour hit his third homer of the season in the seventh inning to right field to make it 7-2 Marlins.

For the Pirates, it was all over but the crying. Kyle Barraclough came on in the eighth to strike out three Bucs on 15 pitches. Junichi Tazawa followed with a hitless seven-pitch ninth in a non-save situation.

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A few things

  • Tazawa lowered his ERA to 1.04 for the season, with 10 whiffs in 8 2/3 innings.
  • Bour finished the game with a .204 average after adding a single to his home run.
  • Shuck went four-for-four in his first game in a year-and-a-half. It was the first four-hit game of his career.
  • Brian Anderson sits at 129 career at bats, and will also no longer be considered a prospect after number 130. He was hitless in four at bats.
  • Castro was only awarded one RBI on the sacrifice fly. He had grounded into two double plays to start his night.
  • The Marlins outhit the Pirates 14-to-5, with an in-game slashline of .412/.444/.559

Heroes (and Zeros)

Using the WPA metric, the following players were the most (and least) valuable to their respective teams.

Elias Diaz +.320

Diaz led off the third with a single (+.043) and cranked a two-run homer in the fifth (+.259). He drew a two out walk with a man on third in his final plate appearance (+.019).

J.B. Shuck +.193

Shuck tripled with one out in the second (+.074) and later scored. He hit a two-out single to center in the fourth (+.011). He led off the sixth with his third hit of the night (+.019), scoring his second run. In the seventh, he hit a two-out single (+.001) to complete his night.

Miguel Rojas +.160

Miguel Rojas followed Dietrich’s leadoff single in the first with a single (+.054). In the third, he hit a one-out single (+.022). With runners on first and second with one out in the fifth, he singled again to load the bases (+.090), then scored on Diaz’ error. He led off the seventh with a groundout (-.005) and closed the eighth with a flyout (-.001).

Starlin Castro +.094

Castro grounded into a double play for the first two outs of the first (-.100) and did it again to end the third (-.046). With the bases loaded and one out in the fifth, he hit the now-famous three-run sacrifice fly (+.236). He singled with one out in the seventh (+.006) and scored on Bour’s homer.

Derek Dietrich +.057

Dietrich led off with a single in the first (+.035) and flew out to lead off the third (-.020). In the fifth, with one out and a man on first, he singled (+.055). Later, he flew out to end the seventh with a runner on second (-.012) and struck out for the second out of the eighth with a man on first (-.001).

Tomorrow at 7:10PM, Trevor Richards (0.1, 8.64) will make his third start of the season. Jameson Taillon (2-0, 1.26) will pitch for the Pirates.

Next: Mattingly's Poor Choice

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