Brinson, Maybin flash leather in Marlins' OF
MIAMI -- The Marlins covered a lot of ground and weren't afraid to get their uniforms dirty in the outfield on Sunday afternoon. Right fielder Cameron Maybin sprawled out and made a diving grab in the second inning, and center fielder Lewis Brinson ran down a fly ball earmarked for the gap in the sixth, narrowly avoided a collision with Maybin in the process.
The Marlins defense made its mark in a 6-0 victory over the Cubs at Marlins Park.
The fielding gems helped lefty Dillon Peters work six sharp innings, as Maybin and Brinson took away hits from the Cubs' Javier Baez and Jason Heyward, respectively.
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"Any time you can keep momentum on your side, it's a good thing, especially with the way we've been playing," Maybin said. "We've got to play good defense and do all the little things right to win ballgames. We did a good job of playing behind Dillon today, making outs for him, and he did a good job of keeping us in the ballgame."
With two outs and the bases empty in the second inning, Baez ripped a line drive to right field. As Maybin approached the warning track, he left his feet to make a spectacular catch. He got a nice burn on his hands for it.
"When you start seeing Cam and Brinson out there, they're going to chew up some ground," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "In ballpark, today it was playing huge with the roof open. There were some balls that were tattooed on both sides that don't go out, and last year, they're probably homers."
According to Statcast™, Baez had a hit probability of 55 percent on the drive, which had an exit velocity of 100.2 mph. For a second, Maybin stayed on the ground, collecting himself. As he trotted towards the dugout, he received a tip of the helmet from Baez.
Maybin was starting in right field over Garrett Cooper, who has been getting work in right. On Sunday, with Justin Bour getting the day off, Cooper started at first base.
Brinson -- whom MLB Pipeline ranks as the Marlins' top prospect and the No. 27 prospect overall -- has played standout defense all series in center field, and he showed that again on Sunday. Both Brinson and Maybin are natural center fielders, but they have the flexibility to switch to corner spots.
"You saw a play today with two center fielders, we cover a lot of ground out there," Maybin said of Brinson's grab.. "I didn't hear him, but I've been out there enough. He made a great play."