Marlins put ball in play ... and walk-off wildness ensues

MIAMI -- Put the ball in play. It seems simple enough, but in this day and age of baseball, it has become a lost art.

It’s something the Marlins have emphasized under a new coaching staff, and the results have paid off by going from the fifth-highest K rate (24%) in 2022 to the ninth lowest (21.5%) in ‘23.

Miami’s wacky 10-9 walk-off victory over St. Louis on Wednesday night at loanDepot park supported the philosophy.

“Our group, especially our hitting group, just preaches [to] put the ball in play,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “Sometimes, there's value to putting the ball in play. We hit into double plays, we get it. We understand where we're at. We don't love doing that either. But there's value in putting the ball in play and not punching out. We have guys up and down the lineup that we're higher on average than most teams. That's because we put the ball in play, and good things happen with the new rules -- you don't envision this happening.”

Miami’s players still couldn’t quite believe what happened when they were asked in the clubhouse after the game.

After closer A.J. Puk surrendered a go-ahead two-run shot to Jordan Walker with one strike to go in the top of the ninth to blow an 8-7 lead, the Marlins were tasked with facing high-heat closer Jordan Hicks.

Bryan De La Cruz opened the frame with a four-pitch walk before Garrett Cooper struck out. Yuli Gurriel then shot an elevated 101 mph sinker past the diving second baseman to put a pair of runners on. Schumaker pinch-ran for De La Cruz with Garrett Hampson, who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville prior to the game with Jonathan Davis (right meniscus surgery) landing on the injured list.

Up came Joey Wendle, only in the game because third baseman Jean Segura was ejected in the seventh for arguing a called strike three. Shortstop Jon Berti moved over to the hot corner, making way for Wendle.

Hampson, who entered Wednesday in the 97th percentile for sprint speed per Statcast, wasn’t planning on taking third since he already was in scoring position. But after seeing the same move from Hicks the first three pitches of Wendle’s at-bat, Hampson elected to go on the next one.

“I just said, 'You know, I feel like I can time it up pretty good here,' and took a chance,” Hampson said. “It's a risky play, but I felt like I got a good jump. And once I saw Joey put it in play, it's always good to round it. And I knew Hicks wasn't paying any attention to me anyway, so I felt like I got a good read. Obviously, [being] in motion helps, and I think I would have been walking into home regardless.”

Behind in the count 1-2, Wendle chopped Hicks’ 101.4 mph four-seamer back to the pitcher. Hicks double-clutched before going to first, where he airmailed a throw into foul territory in right field. Hampson scored, and Gurriel went from first to home without a throw.

Here are more Statcast figures on the wild play:

• 50.6 mph exit velocity
• -70 degree launch angle
• Hit distance of one foot
• 20 percent hit probability
• 27.8 feet per second sprint speed from Wendle (27 feet per second is league average)
• 31.7 foot secondary lead from Hampson
• 11.94 seconds first to home for Gurriel

“Obviously in a situation like that, the first thing you don't want to do is ground into a double play, and the next thing is strike out,” Wendle said. “I felt like his ball was moving quite a bit, so just trying to battle, just trying to fight, put something in play and ended up working out.”

“Everything happened fast,” Wendle added. “I went from thinking I just chopped one to the pitcher for out number two to seeing the game-winning run score.”

It marked Miami’s fifth walk-off victory and 24th comeback win of the season. At 51-37, the Marlins have the most wins before the All-Star break in franchise history. With four games remaining in the first half, the club finds itself with the second-best record in the National League.

“When you get victories like this one, I think it counts double,” Gurriel said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr., “because when you come from behind, you win at the end of the game -- games like this actually shows how good the team is doing and is performing.”