September 26, 2011: Michael Morse’s clutch 9th-inning homer seals victory for Atahualpa Severino

On September 26, the Washington Nationals travelled to Miami to finish the 2011 season with a three-game series against the Florida Marlins. These were the final games to be played in Sun Life Stadium, described by Dan Le Batard as a “kind of a sad dump for baseball now, truth to be told, too empty too often and too wet, too.”1The following season, the renamed Miami Marlins played in a new ballpark with a retractable roof.2

Prior to the first game of the series, 80-year-old interim manager Jack McKeon announced his retirement.3 The Marlins announced the hiring of Ozzie Guillén as their next manager.4 Florida was an abysmal 71-88, clinching last place 28 games behind first-place Philadelphia in the National League East.

The Nationals, under the leadership of general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Johnson, were on the cusp of greatness.5 The legitimacy Rizzo sought with the offseason signing of outfielder Jayson Werth coincided with the youth movement featuring Ryan Zimmerman. The Nats were in third place in the National League East, 10½ games behind second-place Atlanta, at 78-80 with a chance to finish above .500 for the first time since coming to Washington in 2005. A victory clinched third place, an achievement for a team that lost 298 games over the previous three seasons. Unlike past miserable Septembers, the Nationals were said to “have played in September like every game means something.”6

Venezuelan-born Marlins righty workhorse Aníbal Sánchez was 8-9 on the hill for his 32nd and last start of the season. A dependable Marlins pitcher since 2006, Sánchez had started strong at 6-2 but with poor support and injuries, he had then gone 2-7.

Facing Sánchez was rookie left-hander Tommy Milone in his fifth career start.7 Nationals beat writer Adam Kilgore saw Milone as a pitcher who “threw fastballs that would not frighten a pane of glass, but he expertly mixed in cutters and a diving change-up enough to induce plenty of week [sic] contact.”8 In his last outing he shut out the powerful Philadelphia lineup over six innings.9

On this Monday, the perennial Miami rain created a delay of 57 minutes. It was the ninth delay of the season for a total of 669 minutes, demonstrating the urgency of moving to a ballpark with a retractable roof.10 The team optimistically reported 21,058 paid fans in attendance.11

Sánchez and Milone each pitched effectively in the first inning. Ian Desmond led off with a four-pitch walk. Sánchez induced a double-play grounder from Rick Ankiel. Zimmerman went down swinging. Milone retired the Marlins in order after Emilio Bonifácio singled up the middle.

Sánchez struggled in the second, eventually pitching out of trouble. With one out, Werth lined a single to left. Danny Espinosa walked on four pitches. The Nationals executed a successful double steal. Miami native Chris Marrero struck out swinging. Wilson Ramos was intentionally walked but then Milone weakly flied out to center. Logan Morrison led off the Marlins’ second by driving a majestic homer 10 rows into the right-field stands for his 23rd homer and a 1-0 Marlins lead.12

The Nationals tied the game in the third, aided by Marlins defensive miscues. Shortstop Bonifácio booted Desmond’s weak grounder. Desmond stole second and advanced to third on Sánchez’s fifth balk of the season.13 Desmond tied the game with an unearned run on Ankiel’s groundout to first. The Marlins took the lead back in the bottom of the third. With two outs, Omar Infante tripled in the gap in center field. Mike Stanton pulled a hard grounder past Zimmerman at third, driving in Infante.14

The Nationals took the lead again in the fourth. With one out, Ramos went to the opposite field with a line-drive single to right. Milone dropped a successful bunt down the first-base line, advancing Ramos into scoring position. Desmond followed with a grounder inside the first-base line into right field, driving in Ramos to tie the game. Ankiel followed with his second RBI of the game on a run-scoring single that fell from Infante’s grasp at second. The Nationals led 3-2.

Unable to hold two earlier leads, Sánchez settled down in the top of the fifth, his last inning of work, yielding only a baserunner with two outs on his own error. In five innings, Sánchez gave up three runs (two earned), walking five and throwing only 54 strikes in 104 pitches. He was angry with his performance: “Something really weird happened with my mechanics. … [T]hat’s not the way I wanted to finish the season.”15

Milone labored in the fifth. Pinch-hitting for Sánchez, Vinny Rotino‘s fly ball dropped in front of Werth in left. Infante sacrificed Rotino to second, and Bonifácio beat out a bunt to the right side, advancing Infante to third. Stanton was intentionally walked to load the bases, and manager Johnson pulled Milone for Craig Stammen after 82 pitches.16 Inheriting a one-run lead, Stammen got Gaby Sánchez to foul out to Marrero at first, but with Morrison up, he unleashed his first wild pitch of the season, and Rotino scored the tying run. Morrison then grounded out to Stammen.

The Marlins’ Ryan Webb was overpowering, with two hitless innings on six infield grounders. Despite giving up the tying run, Stammen pitched 1⅔ hitless innings, striking out the side in the sixth. But the Marlins regained the lead in the seventh. In relief of Stammen, Ryan Mattheus retired the first two Marlins batters before Infante poked a grounder past short for a single. Todd Coffey replaced Mattheus and walked Stanton. Then Gaby Sánchez drove Infante home with a single. The Marlins led 4-3.

In the eighth, Davey Johnson brought in lefty Atahualpa Severino, making his sixth appearance as a September call-up. He pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts.17 In the top of the ninth, the Marlins’ Edward Mujica made the slow jog from the bullpen intending to close out the game. (Florida’s regular closer Leo Núñez was on the restricted list due to an immigration issue when he admitted playing under an assumed name.18)

Pinch-hitting for Severino, Laynce Nix “scalded a leadoff pinch-hit single.”19 Pinch-runner Roger Bernadina went to second on Desmond’s single. Ankiel struck out and Zimmerman grounded out to short, moving the runners to second and third. Nationals cleanup hitter Michael Morse walked to the plate. Morse looked out at a field lined with football yard markers that “crisscrossed the grass and the University of Miami’s ‘U’ logo [that] was left over from Saturday’s game in shallow center field.”20

A native of Fort Lauderdale and a graduate of Nova High School in Davie, Florida, the strapping 6-foot-5, 245-pound charismatic left fielder was experiencing a career year. “[B]y far the most fun year. … I tried to help the team as much as I could,” Morse said after the game.21

With a 1-and-1 count, Mujica tossed an 89-MPH splitter that split the heart of the plate. Morse connected and “the ball soared through the thick night air” toward the left-field upper deck.22 Mujica sharply turned his head and “crouched on the mound and covered his head.”23 Morse thrusted “his right fist into the air and started trotting down the first base line” as the ball flew “over the scoreboard and rattled around the seats.”24 His teammates leapt from the dugout to celebrate his three-run homer, his 30th of the season, and a 6-4 Nationals lead.25 Morse was cheered by his family and friends sitting behind the Nationals’ dugout.

The unpredictable hard-throwing right-hander Henry Rodríguez pitched the ninth to earn his second save of the month and career for the Nationals’ 79th win of the season. Though he gave up a leadoff single to Greg Dobbs, Rodríguez induced a double-play grounder to Desmond to end the game. Mujica’s record fell to 9-6.

The game lasted a drizzling 3:19 with four lead changes, resulting in the Nationals’ eighth win in nine games, three in row.26 Holding the homer ball, Morse said he wished the season had a month left: “We’re jelling together and pushing forward and showing teams that we can turn this division around soon.”27 McKeon ached with victory taken away: “Tough one. I thought we had it in the bag.”28 Johnson beamed: “I don’t care if it was any time of the year. You’re in big league ballgames.”29

The Washington Post saw transformational components in Morse’s homer carrying “a marker for his franchise. …Third place will pass for disappointment next year.”30 The Nats were 79-80 with two games left with a chance for a winning record, but they split their last two games.31

“It’s been a great run,” the cigar-chomping McKeon said of his chances to break Connie Mack’s record of being the oldest manager in major-league history at 87.32 “Hopefully in 2017 or 2018, I’ll be back to beat Connie,” McKeon said.33 But there were no more games to manage.

Severino was awarded the win, his only major-league decision.34 Unbeknownst to Severino, his big-league career had just ended.35

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Photo credit: Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, BaseballAmerica.com, and MLB.com.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/FLO/FLO201109260.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2011/B09260FLO2011.htm

Notes

1 Dan LeBatard, “Goodbye to a Ballpark: Looking Back at the Marlins,” Miami Herald (online), September 27, 2011.

2 Marlins Park is now known as LoanDepot Park. It is at the former Miami Orange Bowl site in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami.

3 McKeon had returned as manager of the Marlins with the resignation of Edwin Rodríguez on June 20, 2011. The team was 32-39 and in last place in the NL East. At 80, McKeon became the second oldest manager in major-league history. During the 2011 season, McKeon became the winningest manager in Marlins history with a record of 280-255 surpassing Fredi González. McKeon had three successive winning seasons with Florida, winning the World Series in 2003 and retiring as manager at age 74 in 2005. Taking over as manager of the Marlins on May 11, 2003, at the age 72, McKeon became the oldest manager to win the World Series. When asked why he returned to managing, McKeon said “I had a little siesta. After I laid out for a year and a half or two years, I started to miss it.” See Associated Press, “Marlins Hire 80-Year-Old Jack McKeon,” ESPN.com,  June 20, 2011.

4 Guillén announced his resignation as manager of the Chicago White Sox, which he had led to a World Series title in 2005, signing a four-year deal for nearly $16 million. The White Sox received compensation in the form of minor-league players as Guillén was under contract for 2012. The Marlins also announced that Christian Yelich was selected as the organization’s player of the year.   

5 After the sudden resignation of Jim Riggleman on June 23, 2011, Rizzo and Johnson meet for dinner at a Washington hotel. On June 26, 2011, Johnson was named manager of the Nationals. Riggleman was angered that Rizzo declined to discuss picking up his option for 2012. On October 31, 2011, the Nationals announced that Johnson would the manage the team in 2012. He managed the team through the 2013 season.

6 Adam Kilgore, “Morse’s Blast in Ninth Rallies Washington,” Washington Post, September 27, 2011: D3.

7 Drafted in the 10th round by the Nationals on June 5, 2008, Milone hit a three-run homer on the first major-league pitch he faced in his September 3, 2011, debut against the New York Mets.The Nationals were victorious in each of Milone’s prior four career starts.

8 Adam Kilgore, “Tommy Milone Wraps Up His First Month in the Majors,” Washington Post (online), September 27, 2011. Kilgore wrote, “But with his 2011 season finished, his first cup of coffee drained, Milone can still say he has won every big league game he’s played in—the Nationals went 5-0 in games Milone started.” In his five starts Milone finished 1-0 in 26 innings of work with a 3.81 ERA. Milone led all of minor-league baseball in 2011 in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

9 Milone represented Washington’s pitching future, along with Ross Detwiler and Brad Peacock. It was assumed this trio were going to be part of the 2012 rotation with Stephen Strasburg and Jordan Zimmermann. On December 22, 2011, Milone was  traded by the Nationals with Peacock, Derek Norris, and A.J. Cole to the Oakland Athletics for Gio González and Robert Gilliam. See Amanda Comak, “Prospects Package Lands A’s González,” Washington Times, December 23, 2012: C1.

10 Manny Navarro, “Florida Marlins Players Have Fond Stadium Memories,” Miami Herald (online), September 27, 2011.

11 Sun Life Stadium had been the Marlins’ home since the team began play in 1993

12 When McKeon was hired to replace Rodríguez, Morrison spoke of the need for a change of culture. “We have a lot of guys who Edwin said don’t hustle or play hard,” Morrison said. “Maybe Jack can kick them in the butt.” See Associated Press, “Marlins Hire 80-Year-Old Jack McKeon,” ESPN.com, June 20, 2011.

13 Sánchez led the majors in balks with five in 2011.

14 Stanton’s given name is Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton, but he was known as Mike since people mangled the pronunciation of his first name. After a trip to Europe in the offseason where he heard his given first name pronounced correctly and liked it, Stanton announced he was to be known as Giancarlo Stanton. See Billy Witz, “How Giancarlo Stanton Let Go of ‘Mike’ and Embraced Who He Is,” New York Times, April 2, 2018: Section D, 2.

15 Steven Wine, “Morse Helps Nationals Beat Marlins 6-4,” Associated Press Archive (online), September 27, 2011.

16 Milone pitched 4⅓ innings, giving up seven hits and three runs, all earned, with one walk and four strikeouts. “My job is to throw strikes and keep as [few] base runners on the base paths as possible,” Milone said about his effort. See Kilgore, “Tommy Milone Wraps Up His First Month in the Majors.”

17 Severino was briefly called up twice by Washington, on July 29, 2010, and July 30, 2011. He did not appear in a game. Severino’s major-league career was encapsulated with his September 2011 call-up encompassing six games and 4⅔ innings of pitching with a 3.86 ERA and seven strikeouts. In the Inca language the name Atahualpa means “bird of fortune.” Atahualpa was the last Inca emperor.

18 Núñez’s real name is Juan Carlos Oviedo. When Oviedo was 17, he assumed the identity of his 16-year-old best friend, Núñez, in order to receive a more lucrative contract from the Pittsburgh Pirates. “Closer for Marlins Admits to Using Fake Documents,” New York Times, September 24, 2011: Section D, 2.

19 Kilgore, “Morse’s Blast in Ninth Rallies Washington.”

20 Kilgore, “Morse’s Blast in Ninth Rallies Washington.” The University of Miami lost to Kansas State 28-24 on September 24, 2011.

21 Amanda Comak, “Morse Proved to Be a Force—He Found Niche as Cleanup Hitter,” Washington Times, September 28, 2011: C1. When first baseman Adam LaRoche missed the remaining portion of the season after playing in 45 games with a torn labrum in his left shoulder, Morse took over at first. Morse also played in left as he did in this game.

22 Kilgore, “Morse’s Blast in Ninth Rallies Washington.”

23 Kilgore. It was Mujica’s third blown save of the season.

24 Kilgore.

25 Morse became the fourth Washington National to achieve the 30-homer plateau after Alfonso Soriano, Ryan Zimmerman, and Adam Dunn. The three RBIs boosted his total to 94 and his batting average to .303.

26 It was the Marlins’ fourth loss in a row.

27 Wine, “Morse Helps Nationals Beat Marlins 6-4.”

28 Wine.

29 Kilgore, “Morse’s Blast in Ninth Rallies Washington.”

30Kilgore. The Mets’ 6-5 loss to the Reds that evening clinched third place for the Nationals. See “Heisey Leads Reds Past Mets 6-5 with Bat, Glove,” New York Post, September 27, 2011.

31 The Nationals finished in third with a record of 80-81, 21½ games out of first in the National League East. The Marlins concluded the season 72-90, 30 games out behind first-place Philadelphia in the National League East. The following season, the Nationals won the National League East with a record of 98-64, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS.

32 Manny Navarro, “Florida Marlins Manager Jack McKeon, 80, Will Retire After the Season,” Miami Herald (online), September 27, 2011; Mack was 87 when he resigned from managing the Philadelphia Athletics in 1950;

McKeon was hired as senior adviser to the general manager and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo on January 29, 2019, a position he still held in 2022. (McKeon was born on November 23, 1930). See: https://www.mlb.com/nationals/team/front-office and Dave Clark, “Former Reds Manager Jack McKeon, 88, is Hired by Washington Nationals, per Reports,” Cincinnati Enquirer (online), January 30, 2019.

33 Craig Davis, “Way Is Cleared for Guillen to Be Next Manager,” South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), September 27, 2011: 1C.

34 The appearance was Severino’s sixth and last of the season and of his major-league career. He pitched in the minor leagues for the Expos/Nationals, Royals, Pirates, Braves, and Angels organizations from 2004 through 2015 and internationally into the 2019 season.

35 Severino failed to make the squad in 2012 spring training, and was sent to the minors, never to return to the major leagues.