The Chicago Cubs defeated the Miami Marlins 10-6 after 10 innings of baseball. Tonight’s game occurred a day after the two clubs went 17 frames, the third-longest game (in innings) in Marlins Park history.

In three games alone, more than 13 hours of baseball have been played at Marlins Park in 2018.

A cavalcade of Cubs jumped all over Brad Ziegler in the 10th inning to seal the deal for the boys in blue. Ben Zobrist broke the 6-6 tie when he drove in Javier Baez on a single to Cameron Maybin in right field. After a little small ball, Ziegler was facing Kris Bryant on an 0-2 count with two outs and the bases loaded. The Silver Fox tried to keep the pitch inside and slow, but Bryant slapped it down the left field line. Brian Anderson was just out of reach of the sharp grounder, driving in Jason Heyward, Albert Almora Jr, and Victor Caratini and allowing all of us a chance at a reasonable bedtime to hope for a better outcome tomorrow.

The Marlins couldn’t ignite any chance of a comeback in the 10th against Mike Montgomery after Brian Anderson pushed Justin Bour into a double play and Maybin flew out to center.

In his first start after signing his 6-year $126 million contract, Yu Darvish didn’t deliver, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings. The ghost of his World Series Game 7 outing was present as he hit lead-off man Lewis Brinson and allowed Derek Dietrich to crush the first home run of the 2018 Marlins campaign in the first inning. Darvish was not able to record a strikeout until he faced Despaigne in the 3rd.

Despite pitching the final inning of Friday’s game, Despaigne started tonight and actually fared better than Darvish until the 5th inning. Working with a well below-average velocity, Despaigne utilized a series of quirky delivery methods to throw off the Chicago batters, striking out five tonight.

Other than Kyle Schwarber hitting a two-run bomb in the second on a lingering pitch outside, Despaigne survived through five. Anthony Rizzo zinged a blistering double that resulted in three runs after Maybin committed an error in right field. Overall, I’m not sure if Marlins fans could have asked for (or expected more) out of Despaigne tonight.

It remains to be seen how long Despaigne will actually remain in the starting rotation. However, since the Fish are already dealing with significant injuries, it is likely that he will be part of the starting five for the foreseeable future. Regardless, Despaigne has made a career out of being the guy that can always answer the call.

In the final game of the series, look for 25-year-old Dillon Peters to take on lefty Jose Quintana. First pitch at Marlins Park is scheduled for 1:10 PM.

FanGraphs.com

Swordfish: Bryan Holaday (.368 WPA)

Flounder: Brad Ziegler (-.351)

Play of the Game: Kris Bryant’s three-run double in the 10th inning

Attendance: 13,422

If you want to catch the game thread lead-up and subsequent commentary, read below.

Welcome to game three! I hope you are all well rested after last night’s 17 inning slug fest. Odrisamer Despaigne will take the mound after recording the win in game two. If Despaigne can seal the deal again today then he will be the first pitcher since Tom Seaver in 1984 to win two games (one as a starter and one in relief) on the same day. Again, don’t forget to place your Icthyomancy picks! I’ll typically post the standings on Saturdays, but we have a very limited body of work so far. Look for a preview next week! Remember, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take -Wayne Gretsky” -Michael Scott

Here is an excerpt regarding the prediction contest, in case you have no idea what I am talking about:

Attendance

Attendance is a big deal in Marlins baseball, like it or not. In each game, we will guess the attendance of the game, home or away, and the closest guess will be worth 2 points.

Individual Games

You can make your best prediction for game scores. A pass costs you nothing. Post your prediction of the score, and if it’s a direct hit (with the correct teams), that’s three points. If you pick the correct winner and by the actual number of runs, that’ll be two points. Predict which team wins, and that’s a single point.

Individual Predictions

These are our prop bets. You’re allowed to make up to two “outside the box” predictions for each contest. Points will be awarded based on the probability of something happening. If you’ve predicted something unfathomably rare (a no-hitter, pitcher hits two home runs, Justin Bour steals seven bases) and it comes true, that’s going to be a lot of points. Everyday things will be worth less. What the heck? The game is free - swing for the fences!

Today’s Lineup

Match-up Summary:

Darvish was the Cubs biggest pickup of the offseason, but the last time he was in Miami (as a member of the Texas Rangers) he gave up a career-high 10 earned runs. Darvish will face a Marlins team that has already been bitten by the injury bug with four would-be starters (J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Cooper, Martin Prado, and JT Riddle) out tonight. The Marlins are expected to counter Darvish with right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne, who struck out 20 in 24 spring innings. Despaigne continued his spring success after working one inning in Friday’s exhausting 17 inning bout. Despaigne, who will be 31 on Wednesday, went 2-3 with a 4.01 ERA in 18 appearances last season with the Fish.

Thread Question:

Who will hit the first home run for the Marlins?