Poteet wins MLB debut, Marlins edge Diamondbacks 3-2

PHOENIX (AP) — Cody Poteet earned a win on the mound in his major league debut, and one huge reason was a 277-pound man's ability to jump in a hurry.

Poteet pitched five solid innings, Jesús Aguilar homered for a third straight game and made a game-ending grab in the ninth, and the Miami Marlins edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Wednesday night.

It was a long road to the big leagues for Poteet, who spent more than six years in the Marlins' farm system before getting his promotion. He said there were some nerves in the first but it helped that Aguilar's two-run homer gave him a 2-0 cushion before he even threw a pitch.

“Amazing moment,” Poteet said. “Lot of years of working for this, so extremely thankful.”

The 26-year-old Poteet (1-0) gave up a run in the first inning and a solo homer in the fifth but was otherwise in control. The right-hander allowed just four hits, struck out six and didn't walk anyone.

“That was nice,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “I liked his tempo; he got (the ball) and was ready to throw but wasn’t in a hurry. Threw strikes. He was good.”

Aguilar gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead in the first when he turned on Matt Peacock's 93 mph fastball and launched the ball down the left-field line. It clanged off the foul pole about two-thirds of the way up.

Aguilar then made a spectacular defensive play that sealed the win. The 6-foot-3, 277-pound first baseman leapt in the air to catch a scorched line drive from Eduardo Escobar and stepped on the bag to double off speedy Tim Locastro for the game-ending double play.

“I don’t know how high he got off the ground, but it was about 10 feet from our perspective on the bench,” Mattingly said.

Aguilar was an All-Star in 2018 when he hit a career-high 35 homers for Milwaukee, but struggled in 2019. He...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Poteet-wins-MLB-debut-Marlins-edge-Diamondbacks-16173272.php