Logan Morrison is the main subject in a pair of videos from last night's game that have gone viral, one involving a crazy play at third when he was caught in a rundown and the other when he bailed out on a foul ball, which dropped to the ground untouched.
First, the foul ball:
Morrison said he was the victim of a fan, who yelled out "I got it! I got it!" as he was moving into foul territory to make the catch. Given that rain delay and late hour combined to thin out the crowd, the fan's voice was loud and crystal clear.
"I got 'got' by a Nationals fan," Morrison said. "I heard, 'I got it! I got it! I got it!' The way the stands are right there, it sounds like they're right behind me. I didn't see who did it, and I didn't look either. It works about once in a million."
As for the play at third base in the sixth inning, Morrison said he felt he made the right decision when he became caught in a rundown and ended up sliding into third base at the same time as teammate Donovan Solano. While it looked comical and the product of a bonehead decision on someone's part, it really wasn't according to manager Mike Redmond.
"The play was the right play," Redmond said.
Morrison was at third and Solano was at first with no outs when Adeiny Hechavarria grounded to Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Morrison, who was going on contact, hesitated a bit, then became caught in a rundown between third and home. Morrison said his job at that point was to remain in the rundown for as long as possible to enable Solano to reach third.
"There's no outs, so if you have the opportunity to sacrifice one out instead of two outs, that's what you do," Morrison said. "So I tried to stay in the rundown so we'd stay in the same situation with runners on first and third. I stayed in the rundown until he could get to third base. I feel that was the play."
CAMINERO OPTIONED, DYSON PROMOTED
Due to Wednesday's rain delay that forced the Marlins' bullpen to cover 6 1/3 innings, the Marlins called down to the minors for reinforcements. Arquimedes Caminero, who pitched one inning in Wednesday's 4-3 loss and gave up a game-tying home run to Jayson Werth, was optioned to Triple A New Orleans. In return, the Marlins called up right-hander Sam Dyson from New Orleans.
Dyson has been starting all season at both Double A Jacksonville and NOLA, but will be used in long relief with the Marlins. The Marlins claimed him off waivers in late January from the Toronto Blue Jays. The 25-year-old native of Tampa made his big-league debut last season with the Blue Jays, making two relief appearances and allowing three runs in a third of an inning at Yankee Stadium, bloating his ERA to 40.50.
"He gives us kind of the long man that we didn't have before," Redmond said.
NEW LINEUP
Another day, another lineup for the Marlins. With left-hander Gio Gonzalez going for the Nationals, Morrison and Christian Yelich are sitting, Solano moves to the leadoff spot, and Justin Ruggiano is batting clean-up.
"We're just going to keep mixing and matching until we find one that works," Redmond said. "We've been trying since April 1."
Here's tonight's lineup: 1. Solano 4; 2. Ed Lucas 3; 3. Giancarlo Stanton 9; 4. Ruggiano 7; 5. Placido Polanco 5; 6. Hechavarria 6; 7. Jake Marisnick 8; 8. Jeff Mathis 2; Tom Koehler 1.
HENDERSON ALVAREZ
Redmond said that Henderson Alvarez, whose outing was cut short by Wednesday's rain delay after only 1 2/3 innings, might start before his next regular turn in the rotation.
THIS AND THAT
-- The Marlins have now scored two runs or fewer in 63 of their 131 games.
-- The past 31 Marlins to reach base via a walk have failed to score. The team record is 40 straight fruitless walks, set during the 2003 season.
-- Stanton, who homered to center Wednesday, is now hitting .354 with 12 home runs for his career at Nationals Park. That's the most home runs there by any opposing player. The Phillies' Ryan Howard is next on the list with 11 home runs.
-- Ruggiano has gone 13 for 28 (.464) since ending his 0 for 42 drought.
-- Ryan Webb was in the wrong place at the wrong time Thursday as he was stretching in foul territory while the Nationals were taking batting practice. Webb was struck in the back by a line drive and appeared to be in considerable pain while being led inside to the training room. After working three innings in long relief Wednesday, Webb wasn't available Thursday.