Minor league outfielder Jake Marisnick had a day to remember on Thursday.
The Jacksonville Suns (Miami Marlins Double-A) center fielder hit two grand slams in his team’s 11-2 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, and the homers came in consecutive innings.
Marisnick’s first grand slam came in the seventh inning with the Suns up 2-0 on Pensacola, so it’s not like the game was out of hand at the time. His second grand slam came in the eighth with two outs and the Suns up 7-0. He pulled both home runs out of the ballpark and finished with 9 RBIs, which tied the Southern League record and set a Suns record. Marisnick also had an RBI double in the first inning of the game.
Marisnick entered the game in a 2-for-26 slump, according to MiLB.com. He says practice with the team’s hitting coach and advice from big leaguer Logan Morrison, who is rehabbing, helped his effort.
“Just little things I’ve been working on with Orland Merced, the hitting coach,” Marisnick told MiLB.com. “Just kind of got up there and let it happen. Sometimes I’ve been overswinging and that gets me into a bad situation.
“[Morrison] kind of had a lot to say to me. He watched some of my at-bats and he told me, ‘Hey you need to relax, you’re pressing a little bit.'”
Marisnick is a former third-round pick of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was obtained by the Miami Marlins in their blockbuster trade with the Jays last November.
Below is a video of Marisnick’s postgame interview with the Suns Baseball Network:
