DENVER — Jacob Stallings was in a nasty place on the plate. The former Gold Glove Award-winning catcher is a defense-first backstop who had a profession .665 OPS getting into this season, however he was hitting simply .127 via 23 video games for the Marlins in 2023.
Then Yuli Gurriel pulled him apart and talked with him in regards to the place of his arms whereas he’s hitting.
“He just kind of grabs you one-on-one,” Stallings mentioned. “We all really respect him and just kind of gravitate towards him. … And if you’re having a rough day, [he] just says, ‘Hey, stick with it. Stick with it. You’re good. Keep going.’”
Stallings and the Marlins caught with it after dropping 4 of the primary 5 video games on their 10-game street journey. It paid off: Stallings’ pair of doubles on Wednesday evening represented two of the Marlins’ 14 hits in a 10-2 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field.
Gurriel led the way in which by going 4-for-4 with a triple and three singles, the second of which broke the ice after the membership had gone 2-for-19 with runners in scoring place to that time within the collection. It was Gurriel’s two-out grounder into middle subject within the fourth inning that introduced in Miami’s first run of the sport, tying the rating.
“That was a huge hit,” Stallings mentioned. “It was kind of a sigh of relief that we were able to get that one across.”
A double-steal of second and residential later that body, then a Jon Berti sacrifice fly and a two-run double by Luis Arraez within the fifth gave Miami a 5-1 benefit. Stallings produced a sac fly of his personal within the sixth, which was adopted by an opposite-field homer from the latest Marlin, middle fielder Jonathan Davis, to make it 7-1.
Jorge Soler continued his red-hot stretch on the plate, launching a towering solo homer within the seventh, his 14th of the season and his ninth in his final 19 video games. Later that inning, Joey Wendle belted a two-run double to left to cap the offensive outburst.
But all of it started with Gurriel, who’s 7-for-8 within the collection. His contributions on the sphere and off of it have clearly been impactful for his new group.
“To have a guy with his pedigree — he’s been on winning teams, he’s won a batting title — I’ve just really been impressed with the pro that he is,” Wendle mentioned. “He’s here, he gets his work in, he knows how to take care of his body [even at] 38 years old.”
Prior to signing a Minor League deal with the Marlins in March, Gurriel had solely identified one Major League group, a group he helped win two World Series titles throughout his seven seasons with the group. The Astros’ rise coincided together with his personal after he defected from Cuba in his early 30s and signed with Houston.
Gurriel posted profession bests in dwelling runs (31) and OPS (.884) in 2019, however struggled within the pandemic-shortened ’20 marketing campaign. He bounced again, successful the American League batting title by hitting .319 in ’21. Then he regressed once more final season, ending with a .647 OPS in 146 video games.
Houston determined to half methods with the favored veteran first baseman, identified affectionately as “La Piña,” or “pineapple” for his hair type. The Astros inked free agent first baseman Jose Abreu to a three-year deal, however Abreu has been one of many league’s worst hitters thus far within the season, nonetheless and not using a dwelling run via 48 video games.
Meanwhile, Gurriel is slashing .291/.330/.427 with three homers in 112 plate appearances, most of which have been sporadic all through the season, although many whereas beginning first baseman Garrett Cooper was sidelined with an ear an infection.
“It’s hard [to get him into the lineup] because he plays first,” supervisor Skip Schumaker mentioned. “You’ve got Cooper there, who was an All-Star last year, [but] we’re going to try to be as creative as we can, because that bat — for me — is real, and our staff loves him in our lineup.”
Cooper continues to battle on the plate: He went 0-for-5 on Wednesday and is 3-for his past-33.
Whatever the fast future holds for Gurriel, one factor is for certain: he’ll ensure he — and everybody round him — is prepared.
Content Source: www.mlb.com