Thompson sharp, but Pirates sunk on basepaths

MIAMI -- Fans might imagine there’s a desire for any player to perform well against his former team, especially in that team’s home ballpark. For Zach Thompson, who was one of three players the Pirates acquired from the Marlins in return for catcher Jacob Stallings in November, he was fully aware that Thursday afternoon marked his first start vs. his former club this season.

“It was a little weird,” Thompson said, “to get to see everyone that I played with last year. [I was] a little nervous in the first inning or two. But after that, just got to calm down and keep going.

“Right before the first pitch that I threw going out there, I looked over and made eye contact with [Marlins left-hander] Trevor Rogers, gave him a little nod. And then beyond that, no, [I didn’t look over into the Miami dugout].”

Thompson’s nerves didn't get the better of him, as he powered through and delivered his longest outing yet this year in the Pirates’ 3-2 11-inning loss to the Marlins at loanDepot park. The righty’s 6 2/3 innings marked the deepest he had pitched since going six innings on May 14 vs. Cincinnati, when he held the Reds hitless through 5 2/3 frames.

“Early in the game, it looked like he was a little tentative the first two innings,” manager Derek Shelton said, “and then he really settled in. … He pitched well. It was as effective as he's been, used both the sinker and the cutter, mixed in the curveball and did a nice job and gave us a chance to win the game.”

Thompson did not give up a hit until the third inning on Thursday, allowing just one run on four hits and three walks, two of which were issued in the bottom of the first inning. But the Pirates turned a 6-4-3 double play to get Thompson out of the inning unscathed.

“I talked with [pitching coach] Oscar [Marin], I think it was after the second inning,” Thompson said. “He was just telling me, ‘Hey, you just got to throw strikes. Just go out there and just do your thing. Don't worry about mechanics. Don't worry about results. Just throw strikes.’ So we were able to calm me down a little bit and [I could] just be a lot more efficient.”

Diego Castillo laid out for the second out of the second inning, making a diving catch in right field that made Mitch Keller’s jaw drop in the visiting dugout. And Oneil Cruz continued to dominate the infield; his throw to first for an infield assist in the third inning registered as the fastest throw by an infielder in the Statcast era (since 2015). Cruz’s 97.8 mph throw was almost 6 mph harder than the fastest pitch Thompson threw all afternoon (a pair of 92 mph four-seamers).

“My defense really picked me up today for sure,” Thompson said. “And a guy like Oneil, being able to throw the ball across the infield at 100 mph [or however] the heck he throws it -- it's really nice. … [It] just lets you throw a lot more strikes knowing that those guys are back there.”

But on the offensive side -- specifically on the bases -- the Pirates were not quite as smooth. Cruz was caught stealing twice. More consequential was Jake Marisnick’s baserunning blunder in the seventh inning..

The Pirates put runners on first and third after Marisnick and Cruz hit back-to-back singles to lead off the top of the seventh inning. It seemed like Pittsburgh had a solid chance to get a run across to tie the game, even after a Daniel Vogelbach struck out and the Marlins threw out Cruz at second. Kevin Newman then worked a full count and checked his swing on a payoff pitch in the dirt, which should have given the Pirates runners on the corners again with Ke’Bryan Hayes at the plate.

But Marlins catcher Nick Fortes picked up the baseball and moved to tag Newman before the first-base umpire Angel Hernandez ruled that Newman never went around. Amid the confusion, Marisnick was more than halfway home from third and still moving, leaving Fortes close enough to chase Marisnick back down the line and tag him out.

“I thought it was strike three,” Marsinick said. “I saw the umpire make a motion -- I guess he was checking -- and it looked like he was [motioning for] strike three. [Fortes] went to tag him and in my head I thought, ‘Strike three.’ And I got stuck in no-man's land. … At the end of the day it's a mistake you can’t make in a one-run ball game.”