MIAMI -- “El Poder de Creer en Ti.” ("The Power of Believing in Yourself.")
It doesn’t matter that Jesús Sánchez is the longest-tenured Marlins position player or that he crushed the farthest home run in the Majors last season. Like everyone, Sánchez goes through periods of doubt.
After opening the season on the injured list with a left oblique strain, Sánchez returned and scuffled through his first 16 games with a .616 OPS. In order to break out of his slump and make quicker adjustments, he and Connor Norby have been taking early cuts on the field to find their respective swings.
Sánchez also has been reading the aforementioned book.
“So, sometimes in life, you go through many different ups and downs, and sometimes you're looking for refuge,” Sánchez said via interpreter Jon Erik Alvarez. “You're not looking for it on the field -- you're not looking for a hit, a double, a triple. Sometimes you need something more and different. That's what this book brings to me, something positive.”
The hard work and belief paid off on Tuesday night, as Sánchez hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning to give the Marlins a 5-4 win over the Dodgers at loanDepot park. Eight days ago, the ballclub was on the losing end of Los Angeles’ walk-off victory in 10 innings at Dodger Stadium.
It marked Miami’s second walk-off of the homestand and MLB-high-tying fifth of the season. For Sánchez, it was his third career walk-off hit, and his first since May 2, 2024, against the Rockies.
After right-hander Jesus Tinoco held the Dodgers scoreless in the top of the 10th, reigning National League Player of the Week Kyle Stowers reached on an intentional walk and Agustín Ramírez sharply singled to load the bases with no outs.
With a five-man infield and nobody in right field, Sánchez sent righty J.P. Feyereisen’s second consecutive changeup to open the at-bat up the middle for the decisive knock.
“The first point, I'm just trying to be on time with the fastball, because I don't like the fastball to beat me a lot,” Sánchez said in English, which is his second language. “And I try to make the adjustment about being on time with the fastball. I know if I’m on time with the fastball, I'm going to be good with the breaking ball.
“I'm not trying to think about where they are [on defense]. I'm trying to think about, ‘I want to be short and make contact.’”
Miami hopes Sánchez's clutch hit, plus his single off southpaw Anthony Banda in the eighth, is the start of the left-handed slugger turning things around. The six-year veteran contains game-changing pop, which would complement the offensive production Stowers and Dane Myers have been providing of late.
“His track record suggests that Sánchy’s been a quality Major League player and hitter for a number of years now, and the quality of contact the last couple days -- he's come out, hit early on the field,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “It's going to come and it's going to turn for him. I feel his at-bats have turned the corner some -- a little bit tonight to hang in there and get a big hit off Banda as well late in the game.
“It's coming. I think it's there. He's in a good spot right now. Hopefully a big hit like this tonight just lets you take a breath and just go and be the player and hitter that he has been and we know he's capable of.”
And it wasn’t just Sánchez who helped McCullough pick up his first victory against his former team.
In a back-and-forth contest, right-hander Cal Quantrill limited the Dodgers to one run over five innings in his second straight start against the defending World Series champions.
Catchers Liam Hicks (two-run homer) and Agustín Ramírez (2-for-4 as the designated hitter) contributed at the plate. With an exit velocity of 108.5 mph, Hicks' home run was the hardest-hit ball of his Major League career. On his sixth-inning double, Ramírez became the first player in franchise history to collect 10 extra-base hits in his first 13 career games.
Myers drove in Connor Norby with a go-ahead single in the sixth. Since last week’s series opener at Dodger Stadium, Myers is 11-for-20 with one double, two homers, four steals, four walks and nine RBIs in seven games.
“I think that's just what this team is built on,” Myers said. “I've said it from Week 1: This team is just tough. I think we're going to have to scratch out a lot of wins like that over the year, and the more we get more comfortable doing that, I think we'll be good.”