MIA 5, SF 2; Mags sparks 9th-inning rally

Magneuris Sierra has been on the Marlins active roster all season, but it took until the club’s 20th game for Don Mattingly to write his name into the starting lineup. It certainly won’t be the last time that he gets this opportunity. On Saturday night, the speedy center fielder drew two walks, the latter of which ignited one of Miami’s biggest rallies of the year and helped seal the 5-2 road win.

• Pablo López—6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (97 pitches)
• Kevin Gausman—8.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 11 K, 1 HR (101 pitches)

Both starting pitchers had exquisite stuff. The key for López was challenging the Giants with his four-seam fastball up in the zone. The Venezuelan right-hander recorded a 48.3 CSW%—called strikes plus whiffs—when using his four-seamer.

Gausman leaned heavily on his splitter. He threw his signature offspeed pitch 57 times! Not a typo. According to Statcast, that is the second-most splitters thrown by anybody in a single game since 2015 (trailing only Alfredo Simón on July 30, 2015).

Jon Berti capitalized on one of Gausman’s rare mistakes, a seventh-inning split that was a few inches too high. Berti’s first home run of the season tied the contest at 1-1.

Two days removed from his terrific MLB debut against the Marlins, Gregory Santos self-destructed in the top of the ninth. Santos issued a leadoff walk to Sierra, then served Jesús Aguilar a middle-middle fastball. It was Agui’s second straight game going deep.

The Marlins pushed across two critical insurance runs after Wandy Peralta took the mound. Corey Dickerson laced an RBI triple to right and showed off his wheels by scoring on Berti’s shallow sacrifice fly. Solid game for Dickerson who had been playing very poorly recently.

In what was technically a non-save situation, Yimi García allowed a solo homer to Mike Yastrzemski. For the first time since Opening Day, García was charged with an earned run. It was also his first appearance since April 6 that didn’t include any strikeouts.

Although a non-factor at the plate, José Devers made nearly every play at second base to contribute to a victory in his MLB debut.

Remarkably, the Marlins find themselves just one game back of the NL East lead. With a win on Sunday, losses by the Phillies and Mets, and at least one loss by the Braves (they’re playing a doubleheader), the Fish can move into a tie for first place. Mattingly still hasn’t announced a probable starter for the 4:05 p.m. ET series finale, but we know that right-hander Logan Webb will pitch for the Giants.

Baseball Savant

Fish Picks Answer Key

1. Gausman
2. Under
3. Over
4. Yes
5. Marlins