MIAMI, Florida — Jazz Chisholm Jr. woke up Friday, decided he needed to dye his hair purple to honor Kobe Bryant and then he went toe to toe against Ronald Acuna Jr. to lift the Miami Marlins to one of their best wins of the first half of the 2021 MLB season, The Miami Herald reported after the Marlins game on Friday, June 11.
It was just another day for one of the brightest young stars in baseball.
He led off for the Marlins and Acuna led off for the Atlanta Braves, and, for nine innings, they traded blows in an early-season meeting between playoff hopefuls. It was as close as the sport can get to 1-on-1, isolation basketball. Acuna put the Braves ahead and Chisholm answered with a game-tying hit. Acuna put Atlanta ahead again and Chisholm answered with a go-ahead hit. In the end, Chisholm, 23, had the upper hand with a 4-3 win.
“Every time I play against the Braves and I see him out there, I say I’ve got to win. I’m not going to lie. It’s something about him on the other side and knowing that he’s probably the best player in the league right now,” Chisholm said. “Every time he gets a hit, I go up to the box and be like, I can’t let him show me up. I’ve got to do it, too.”
The middle infielder went 2 for 3 with a walk and two RBIs, and twice helped the Marlins (28-35) battle back from early deficits before delivering the game-winning hit in the fourth inning.
Acuna, also 23 and the early-season frontrunner for the National League Most Valuable Player Award, was spectacular with two hits, a walk, two runs and an RBI double. Chisholm, a contender for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, matched him blow for blow to get a series-opening win in front of 6,595 at loanDepot park.
Miami’s win to start a three-game series against the Braves (29-32) guarantees at least a .500 homestand. After the Marlins lost 8 of 9 on their most recent road trip, they returned home Tuesday and took 2 of 3 from the Colorado Rockies for their first series win in more than two weeks. Now they’re back on track with three wins in four games to remain seven games behind the first-place New York Mets in the NL East. See complete story in The Miami Herald at https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article252023108.html
