Sixto Sanchez dominates in second start, but Marlins offense flat in shutout loss to Rays
Sixto Sanchez walked away from his MLB debut pleased that he was able to perform at the highest level but with the understanding that he still had a lot of room to grow to live up to his own expectations.
His encore on Friday was even better despite not getting any run support in a 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays (22-11) scored both their runs on two-out RBI singles against the Marlins’ bullpen, first by Yandy Diaz in the eighth against Brad Boxberger and then Michael Perez in the ninth against Josh A. Smith.
The Marlins (14-13) attempted to rally with two outs in the ninth on a Garrett Cooper double and Jonathan Villar walk, but Jorge Alfaro grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game.
It spoiled the dominant start for Sanchez, the Marlins’ top prospect and the No. 24 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. He held the Rays to six hits and a walk over seven scoreless innings while striking out ten. He only allowed two runners to reach scoring position. Sanchez threw 92 pitches, 63 of which went for strikes.
“He was really good,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “He was in control all night. ... He gave us a really good shot.”
It was an immense improvement on his debut against the Washington Nationals on Saturday, when he scatters six hits (including a pair of home runs) while striking out four over five innings. Sanchez came away from that performance knowing that he needed to improve his pitch location and treat every pitch with equal intensity.
That plan translated on Friday.
His four-seam fastball topped out at 100.6 mph in the first inning. Between the four-seam and the cutter, he hit at least 99 mph 13 times.
But his changeup was the best pitch of the night. Sanchez threw it 37 times and got 14 of his 21 outs with the pitch, including six of the 10 strikeouts.
“That’s my main pitch, my changeup,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “I truly trust my changeup. I use it to get groundballs, outs, double plays.”
Sanchez, acquired in February 2019 along with catcher Jorge Alfaro and pitching prospect Will Stewart from the Philadelphia Phillies for J.T. Realmuto, needed just 12 pitches to retire the side in the first with two strikeouts. He worked around two baserunners in the second by getting Yoshi Tsutsugo to ground out to Villar at second base.
He erased a leadoff single in the fifth by helping turn a double play and then striking out Perez on three pitches.
But the Marlins offense struggled to get going against the Rays’ pitching staff, recording just five hits.
Jackie Robinson Day
Sanchez’s big night came on the day the Marlins celebrated Jackie Robinson Day. The league normally celebrates Robinson on April 15 but had to move it back after the season was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
MLB chose Friday for the makeup day to celebrate Robinson for two reasons. First, it’s the anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, which the Robinson family attended. It’s also is the date in 1945 when Robinson and Branch Rickey met to discuss his future as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Sharon Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s daughter, threw a virtual ceremonial first pitch before the game. Every player and coaching staff member also wore Robinson’s No. 42, an annual tradition.
The Marlins, in light of the unrest in the country and calls for racial justice following the police shooting of Jacob Blake and deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans, are working to make sure Robinson’s memory lasts longer than the one day he is celebrated on the field.
“Without that man, I wouldn’t be here right now,” Marlins outfielder Lewis Brinson said. “It definitely is amplified a little more, but it needs to be an ongoing thing. We can’t have one day out of the baseball year that we bring light to everything. It needs to be Jackie Robinson Day and the day after and the day before.”
This and that
▪ Cooper, who started as the designated hitter and batted fourth in his first game back after battling COVID-19 went 2 for 4 with a double and a strikeout on Friday.
▪ The Marlins will make up their postponed game against the Mets from Thursday at 1 p.m. Monday at Citi Field. The date lines up with what would be two-time defending National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom’s day to pitch. If he starts, he will face Miami for his fourth consecutive outing. deGrom has held the Marlins to three earned runs on 13 hits and four walks with 27 strikeouts over 18 innings in his first three starts against them this year.
