'Go guy' Jazz gives Marlins jolt with go-ahead homer

MIAMI -- The Marlins did not have a good first half of the season, nor did they go into the All-Star break with any momentum.

But after taking two of the first three coming out of the break against the Mets, Jazz Chisholm Jr. said to watch out for the Marlins in the second half.

“The first half did not go well,’’ said Chisholm, whose three-run homer in the fourth inning helped power the Marlins to a 4-2 win over the Mets on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot park.

“But we are in the second half, and we want to be the best team of the second half,” Chisholm added. “Even though we did not start the first half well and we know it’s going to be tough to make the playoffs, we’re still going to go out there and grind out there to make it seem like you are playing a playoff team every day.

“... It has been good vibes in here all year. No one has been pointing fingers. Everyone has gone about their business the right way. Win or lose, we’re still family in here.”

Miami, which went into the break with losses in five of its final six games, will try to win its second series this month in Monday’s finale against the Mets.

The Marlins, who have the worst record in the National League, are expected to be sellers at the July 30 Trade Deadline.

Chisholm has been the focus of many of those trade rumors, but he said Sunday that he and his teammates cannot listen to what swirls around them.

“When I am here, I am here to do my job, do what I do,” Chisholm said. “I love playing baseball, so I am going to go out there and love playing this game every day. The trade rumors are never going to be on my mind. You may hear the fans chirping, ‘Can you come here?’ But at the end of the day, you play baseball. It’s a business. If you get traded, you have to deal with it. But if not, I would love to stay with Miami. This is home for me.”

Jake Burger’s 12th home run of the season, which came in the seventh, gave Miami all the insurance it needed with another strong performance from its bullpen.

“[Chisholm] is our ‘go guy,’ and anytime he does something special out there, we have a good chance of winning that game,” Burger said. “Down one run, he put us up two. We trust our ‘pen to come in after [Trevor] Rogers and shut it down. Jazz is a special player and one of my favorite teammates. Whenever I see him do something fun, it’s fun. He brings the energy every day and works as hard as anyone. He’s a good teammate.”

Miami trailed, 1-0, going into the bottom of the fourth when Xavier Edwards and Vidal Bruján led off the inning with singles.

With one out, Chisholm belted a 3-2 slider from starter Christian Scott (0-3) a Statcast-projected 399 feet into the Mets’ bullpen in right for a 3-1 lead.

Miami never trailed again.

“Those are the moments I want to be the best in,’’ Chisholm said. “You go out there every day, you have the mindset to be the best player every day. Those are the moments you have to step up in. Those are my favorite moments.”

Rogers was pulled with two outs in the fifth after New York closed within 3-2 on an RBI single from J.D. Martinez, but Miami’s bullpen kept the Mets from getting any closer.

Declan Cronin (2-2) struck out Mark Vientos with two runners on to end the threat.

Cronin, A.J. Puk, Calvin Faucher, and All-Star closer Tanner Scott pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and getting nine of Miami’s 14 strikeouts.

“Cronin was fantastic getting out of a big jam,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “He hasn’t pitched in six, seven days, so for him to look that sharp in a high-leverage situation, it was only the fifth, but it was a big part of the game. [He] gave us a really good sixth and got us into our back-end bullpen guys. He bridged the gap really well.’’

Scott, another player rumored to be heading out of Miami, has not allowed a hit in his last eight appearances, spanning 8 2/3 innings.

On Sunday, he struck out two of the three Mets he faced for his 16th save of the season.

“I just try to go out there and get outs,” Scott said. “Just do my job.’’