Javier

Sanoja

Edwards takes a seat for the third consecutive game after dealing with left thumb discomfort over the weekend. It’ll be Javier Sanoja taking over at the keystone in his absence.

Sanoja hit a ball 403 feet off Walker Buehler in the seventh. It’s the second-farthest he’s hit a ball as a major leaguer, trailing only a Coors Field-aided 419-foot homer in June. Statcast thinks Sanoja is pretty fortunate to be hitting .291/.330/.454, but he’s certainly a nice player while doing so. His presence could free up the Marlins to trade either Xavier Edwards or Otto Lopez this winter.

Sanoja’s first hit of the night came in the sixth inning when he singled off of Dodgers reliever Evan Phillips. Sanoja would then swipe second base and later came around to score on an RBI double by Augustin Ramírez to cut the Dodgers’ lead to 2-1. Sanoja would lead things off with a triple in the eighth inning and came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Owen Caissie, but that would be all the runs the Marlins would muster despite the offense tallying 10 hits and drawing three walks. Sanoja is now sitting on an 11-game hitting streak and is slashing a blistering .416/.442/.683 in September.

Sanoja’s home run was his eighth of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Cubs reliever Colin Rea in the seventh inning. Sanoja has two home runs in his last five games. He’s hitting .289 with a .764 OPS and 55 RBI this year.

Sanoja was an engine for the Marlins out of the nine-spot in this game with three hits and stolen bases apiece. He’d only stolen six all season heading into this game despite his excellent speed, so this was a surprise. Still, as an everyday player who has a .280 batting average and is eligible all over the field, him becoming a willing base stealer down the stretch could make him a valuable asset in deeper leagues.

Sanoja singled in the eighth inning to tie the game at 1-1 and later came around to score on an RBI single by Otto Lopez to put the Marlins up 2-1. After the Nationals came back to tie it in the ninth inning, Sanoja would find himself up at the plate with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth. He would hit an RBI single off Nationals reliever Clayton Beeter to secure the win for the Marlins and bring an end to their three-game skid. Sanoja has now hit safely in five straight games and is slashing .362/.393/.603 in the month of August.

Sanoja’s homer was a solo shot off Aaron Nola in the sixth inning, the only run Miami could muster on the evening. He entered the game hitting .308/.345/.519 in August, a stretch in which he has operated as the Marlins’ primary third baseman.

This was a scoreless game heading into the eighth, but Miami was able to put seven across against the Reds’ bullpen. Three of those came on one swing from Sanoja, who has now homered five times in 315 at-bats. His .410 slugging percentage shows that he’s not just dink-and-dunk, but his 5-foot-7 frame obviously limits the power production. He’s done a very nice job for Miami, however, and he’s someone to keep an eye on going forward.

Sanoja finally got the Braves on the board in the seventh inning with a run-scoring single that plated Xavier Edwards. He also delivered an RBI double in the ninth to pull the Fish to within eight runs at 11-3. With his two-hit attack, the versatile 23-year-old is now hitting .269/.306/.403 with four homers, 39 RBI and six stolen bases in 308 plate appearances with the Marlins this season.

Sanoja’s fourth homer was hit 377 feet off Zac Thornton in the second. He’s batting .267/.306/.401 in 295 plate appearances in his utility role. It’d be better for the Marlins if he wasn’t starting quite this much versus righties — he’s come in at .242/.283/.344 against them — but at least he does add value with the glove wherever he’s playing. He started in right and later moved to third today.