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Source: FanGraphs
Attendance: 23,333
Hero of the Game: Jose Fernandez (0.337 WPA)
Goat of the Game: Donovan Solano (-0.067 WPA)
Play of the Game: Adeiny Hechavarria tripled to center field in the fourth inning. Ed Lucas scored. (+.137 WPA)
At this point, can we come to expect anything else from Jose Fernandez?
The Miami Marlins rookie starter continues to dominate hitters in a way we have not seen since perhaps Kevin Brown circa 1996. Fernandez did it again tonight, this time versus the Colorado Rockies. Rockies hitters were completely baffled by Fernandez's three-pitch arsenal, as he threw seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and no walks. He allowed only four hits, two of them coming in the second inning when Michael Cuddyer and Todd Helton both singled off of him to lead the inning off. Fernandez got three straight outs, two on strikeouts, and did not run into significant trouble the rest of the way.
Fernandez picked up nine swings and misses in 97 pitches, so he was not completely dominant in that respect. Fernandez's strength in this start was his command and control. Not only did he not walk one hitter, he also pelted the strike zone with called strikes. He threw 30 balls versus 22 called strikes, an amazing 1.4 balls-to-called strikes ratio for an entire game. Considering that the rest of his pitches went for strikes, outs, or balls in play, 31 out of 97 total pitches going for balls is a beautiful figure.
Of course, the Marlins still would not be able to win without scoring a run, but luckily the team took care of that early. Three of the Marlins' four hits in the game came in the fourth, including two run-scoring swings by Ed Lucas and Adeiny Hechavarria. Giancarlo Stanton led things off with a double and would later come home to score on a Lucas single. Hechavarria then belted a triple to the base of the Monstrosity wall. Jake Marisnick's sacrifice fly gave the Fish a 3-0 lead that they never came close to relinquishing.
Steve Cishek saved his 28th game, Fernandez picked up his tenth pitcher win of the season, and Goldberg got to spear someone in Marlins Park's Legends of Wrestling night (wish I was there!). What more can a Marlins fan ask for on a Saturday night?