BOSTON — All Jazz Chisholm Jr. could do was watch for six weeks as the Miami Marlins went on a run that put them among the top teams in the National League.
The Marlins were 19-21 the last time he played before an extended stint on the injured list due to right turf toe. In the 39 games he missed while rehabbing, they went 26-13 and established themselves as a contender as the regular season nears its halfway mark.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time to be back here,” Chisholm said. “The guys have been having fun. I’m just here to help.”
Chisholm returned to the lineup on Tuesday and quickly reminded how much he can impact a game. The center fielder went 3 for 4 with a hit-by-pitch, a double, three RBIs and two runs scored in the Marlins’ 10-1 blowout win over the Boston Red Sox to begin a three-game series at Fenway Park.
The Marlins are now 46-34 on the season and won a game at Fenway Park for the first time since June 18, 2009. Boston falls to 40-40.
Chisholm began his night by sending a Garrett Whitlock change-up that just clipped the bottom-inside corner of the strike zone to left-center field for a double. He scored one at-bat later on a Garrett Cooper single to right.
After being hit by a pitch in the third inning, Chisholm hit an groundball single up the middle in the fourth that scored Luis Arraez. He grounded out in the sixth before hitting a two-run single to right in the seventh and scored on a Cooper double as part of a four-run frame.
Here are three more takeaways from the game.
Jean Segura has his moment, too
Chisholm wasn’t the only player returning from the injured list to provide an instant spark.
Third baseman Jean Segura, who missed the past 10 games with a left hamstring strain, hit a solo home run to left field over the Green Monster to extend Miami’s lead to 6-1. It was his second home run of the season.
Segura, who signed a two-year deal with an option for the 2025 season this offseason, has struggled mightily so far this year. Even with the home run, he’s still only hitting .191 with a .508 on-base-plus-slugging mark. He did, however, have hits in three of his previous five games before landing on the IL.
An all-around effort by the offense
The Marlins logged a season-high-tying 19 hits on Tuesday and scored double-digit runs for the fourth time this season. Seven players had multiple hits.
Joey Wendle tied a career-high with four hits and also drew a walk. It was his first time getting four hits in a game with the Marlins and seventh time overall in his career, last on July 24, 2021, with the Tampa Bay Rays against Cleveland.
Beyond Wendle, Chisholm and Segura, Cooper had three hits and two RBIs; Arraez had two hits, one RBI and two runs scored to finish the game with a .399 batting average; Jorge Soler had two hits, an RBI double and a run scored; and Bryan De La Cruz had two hits, including a two-run home run.
Sandy Alcantara pitches a gem
All of the runs were more than enough for right-handed pitcher Sandy Alcantara, who on Tuesday looked more like the pitcher from the 2022 season that won the Cy Young Award than the pitcher this season that entered the game with a 5.08 ERA.
Alcantara on Tuesday held the Red Sox to just one run over seven strong innings. He worked around six hits and two walks while striking out five.
The lone run Alcantara allowed came in the first inning when Alex Verdugo’s double drove in Justin Turner, who hit a double one at-bat earlier.
Tuesday was the fourth time this month Alcantara pitched at least seven innings but just the second time among those outings that he held opponents in check. He gave up just one run against the Chicago White Sox over seven innings on June 10 but allowed five runs in the other two starts (June 4 against the Oakland Athletics and June 21 against the Toronto Blue Jays).
Archie Bradley pitched the final two innings.
