Miami's Gordon legs out first inside-the-park HR at Marlins Park
MIAMI -- With Giancarlo Stanton on the disabled list, the Miami Marlins lost 43 percent of their power. The unlikeliest of the bunch -- speedster Dee Gordon -- produced the first homer in his absence.
Gordon made history with the first inside-the-park homer in Marlins Park history Tuesday night in a 5-3 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
"Now I got to pick up the power," Gordon teased. "He's gone. We're like the same size."
Gordon lined right-hander Ryan Vogelsong's first pitch -- an 84 mph changeup -- to the right-center field gap for a three-run homer. According to Statcast, it left the bat at 97 mph and traveled 352 feet.
Right fielder Gregor Blanco fielded the drive near the wall and tried to flip it backward for center fielder Angel Pagan, but the relay in was too slow, and Gordon was too fast, slid easily into home well ahead of the relay throw to the plate.
Off the bat, Gordon thought triple. He even slowed down between first and second before looking up to see third-base coach Lenny Harris sending him.
"I tried to hit another gear I didn't have at the time," Gordon said. "... I was like nervous. ‘Oh God, I'm going to get thrown out."
It marked Gordon's fifth career home run and first since June 14, 2014. The speedster had never produced an inside-the-park homer. The last Marlin to achieve the feat was Cameron Maybin on May 31, 2010, against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The last time he recorded an inside-the-park dinger? In 2009 for the Great Lakes Loons in the Low-A playoffs.
"A thing of beauty, really, a thing of beauty," manager Dan Jennings said. "Two outs, three RBIs. ... But it's a beautiful thing to see. He had a great swing, split the gap perfect, and when he gets on base like that and starts to run, it's really exciting. Lenny read it all the way and kept him moving and that was great to see and must needed at that time.
"When I saw the ball kick, when I saw it kick, I knew he was in full gear when he round to second base and felt like Lenny was gonna give it a shot, especially with two outs. And he kept waving him and Dee found a new gear. A thing of beauty to see, fun to watch. Just a great team win tonight, overall."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
