‘Jazz’ goes deep against the Phillies

In just his second game back since his three-week hiatus due to a hamstring strain, Jasrado “Jazz” Chisholm Jr. sent a ball flying to right center field for his first home run since returning from the injury list. It was his fifth home run of the season, but it came in an 8-3 loss for the Miami Marlins to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in Major League Baseball (MLB) action on Tuesday night.

Playing on a cool 78 degrees evening with clear skies, Chisholm’s power hit came in the top of the eighth inning with the game tied 1-1. Up against Phillies’ pitcher Jose Alvarado, Marlins’ lead-off batter Chisholm, who batted second in that inning, took the first two 100 miles per hour (mph) sinkers from Alvarado – the first one was a ball and the second one went foul. The third and fourth pitches were balls, with the fourth one coming in at 100mph. The count was 3-1 with Marlins’ center fielder Jon Berti on second base. It was not until the fifth pitch that the Bahamian went in for the big swing. He connected cleanly on Alvarado’s 100.5mph pitch and it went flying to the right center field, over the wall and into the stands that sent fans scrambling for the ball. The two-run homer put his team up 3-1, and he euro-stepped his way across home plate to complete the trip around the diamond.

The exit velocity of that home run was recorded at 95.3 mph with a travel distance of 378 feet.

That was Chisholm’s second home run of a 100mph pitch this season. He is the only player in the league to hit a home run from a 100mph pitch this season, and he did it twice.

With the Marlins up 3-1, the Phillies’ offense woke up as they erupted for seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Marlins’ bullpen crumbled, giving up seven runs on seven hits and two walks. The home team took a comfortable 8-3 lead at the end of that inning.

In the top of the ninth inning, Phillies’ pitcher Hector Neris ended any comeback attempt with two quick strikeouts and a groundout.

Offensively, Chisholm finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs batted in (RBIs). He leads the Marlins with a batting average of.308 and in on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) at .959.

Since his return, Chisholm is batting 4-for-9 and an OPS of 1.222. In his rehab duty with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in Triple-A Baseball, he went 4-for-9 with a home run, four RBIs and scored three runs in three games.

In his 23 games played this season, the infielder is batting .308, going 24-for-78 at the plate. He has five home runs, nine RBIs and 14 runs scored. Chisholm has a National League-leading eight stolen bases this season. He’s tied at number two with four other players in the league in stolen bases. Kansas City Royals’ second baseman Whit Merrifield is in the lead with 12 stolen bases.

Chisholm remains a frontrunner for the National League Rookie of the Year Award.

The Bahamian has experienced more time at second base than shortstop this season, starting 20 games at second base and six at shortstop. In the field, he has 64 assists, 23 putouts and just two errors this season. He has been a part of 16 double plays this season.

With that loss on Tuesday, the Marlins dropped to an 18-23 win/loss record on the season. The are 3-7 in their last 10 outings. The Marlins are fourth in the National League East Division – four and a half games behind the 20-16 New York Mets. The two will face each other in a three-game series beginning tomorrow in Miami, Florida.

The Marlins played their second game of a three-game series against the Phillies last night, but the result was unavailable up to press time. They will wrap up the series tonight.

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