Dane Myers hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the seventh inning and ended with three hits and three RBIs as the Miami Marlins defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-3 on Saturday. Both teams have the worst records in Major League Baseball.
Myers’ 420-foot home run off White Sox reliever Michael Soroka, his second of the season, turned around a 3-2 deficit and brought in Jake Burger, who had walked to start the inning.
The 28-year-old Myers, originally a pitcher, shares time in right field with Jesús Sánchez and typically plays against left-handed pitchers. However, with Sánchez dealing with hamstring soreness on Saturday, manager Skip Schumaker trusted Myers against the right-handed Soroka.
“It feels good not only to come through but for Skip to have the trust in me and give me that at-bat,” Myers said. “I know we’ve got good left-handed hitters on the bench, so getting that opportunity from Skip felt really good.”
Myers has gone 4 for 8 in the first two games of the series, prompting Schumaker to announce he will start again on Sunday.
“It’s funny how baseball works,” Schumaker commented. “I was trying to avoid using Sánchez because of his hamstring. If he had been healthy, I would have probably used Myers as a pinch hitter. It shows you how things can change, and Myers stays in the game and hits a home run.”
Xavier Edwards contributed two singles for the Marlins, who snapped a five-game losing streak and improved to 31-58, second to last in MLB standings.
Huascar Brazoban (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts to earn the win. A.J. Puk recorded three outs in the eighth inning, and Tanner Scott closed with a flawless ninth for his 13th save.
“I feel really confident when we’re ahead after the sixth inning,” Schumaker said.
