MIAMI — Split-second decisions in a game can be the difference between a win and a loss.
Take for instance the following two moments from Monday night’s 7-6 Marlins defeat to the Cardinals in 12 innings at loanDepot park.
Sending him home
After Nick Gordon cut the deficit to one on a leadoff RBI triple in the 12th, St. Louis thwarted the rally with a stellar defensive play.
Right fielder Dylan Carlson caught Tim Anderson’s lineout 269 feet from home plate and fired to catcher Pedro Pagés, who applied the tag for the Majors’ only sac fly double play in extra innings this season. Gordon reached a sprint speed of 28 ft/sec. (27 ft/sec. is league average), but Carlson’s 91.5 mph throw reached Pagés without a bounce.
The Marlins executed a similar play on June 7, when Dane Myers threw out the potential go-ahead run in the eighth inning in an eventual win over the Guardians.
“I trust my coaches and trust Gordon,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He’s got good speed. I know DC’s got a good arm in right. We know that. Took a perfect throw to get him out, and again, if there wasn’t speed on third base, maybe [not]. But I don’t second guess. [Third-base coach] Griffin [Benedict] does his homework, and Gordon has been around for a while. Good speed, thought it was the right play.”
