Conine, Norby making the most of opportunity to stick in the big leagues

MIAMI -- A Marlins club full of relatively inexperienced players isn’t just trying to take down the opposition but also stick in the big leagues.

Griffin Conine and Connor Norby, both of whom went deep in a 7-4 victory over the Reds on Wednesday night at loanDepot park, represent two of those Marlins navigating the earlier parts of their career.

“I think most of us are still trying to prove ourselves, right?” Conine said. “[Kyle Stowers], obviously, last year, he did that, and he's our guy now, and we're excited to get him back. But I think a lot of the rest of us are still in that boat.”

Conine, who opened the second with a single and scored on Jakob Marsee’s RBI knock, later lifted righty Brady Singer’s sinker to the second deck in right for a two-run blast in the third. Conine joined breakout candidate Liam Hicks (three) and Top 100 prospect Owen Caissie (two) as the only Marlins with multiple homers this season.

With the Marlins’ lead cut to 6-4, Norby pulled righty Connor Phillips’ sweeper at the bottom of the zone for a solo shot in the seventh. It marked his first home run of the season.

Contributions from Conine and Norby come at an opportune time.

Wednesday snapped a stretch of Miami facing four consecutive left-handed starting pitchers, which kept the left-handed-hitting Conine out of the lineup. During that stretch, he went hitless with one walk and one hit-by-pitch in six plate appearances off the bench.

It would’ve been easy for Conine to press and try to make up for lost time. Luckily, “The Lefty Squad” takes more swings on days they’re not starting to be ready in a pinch.

“I think it helps knowing we’ve got a string of righties in a row,” Conine said. “I think if it was like we had this one, and then two more lefties or three more lefties, then it feels like it's more pressure to make it count. I didn't have to do everything I had to do tonight, just have good at-bats. The results will come.”

That kind of mindset is key as All-Star Stowers appears to be nearing a rehab assignment, meaning the Marlins will need to decide what to do with their active roster soon.

Marsee, Caissie and Conine are lefty bats. Righties Heriberto Hernández and Austin Slater have been in the lineup with a southpaw starter on the mound. Conine builds a strong case because of his power and last season’s hot start before shoulder surgery.

“Griff has impact potential in his bat,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “... Griff got off some really, really aggressive swings tonight. When he squares it up, he does, he has the ability to do some damage.”

But there’s another variable to take into consideration: Stowers has been getting pregame first-base reps this week, making that a possibility upon his return. If the Marlins pursued that option -- even if only on occasion -- they could send out an all-lefty outfield and left-handed-hitting Stowers at first while facing righty starters.

That could, in turn, slightly affect Norby’s playing time. Including Wednesday, Norby has started nine of the Marlins’ 12 games at first base -- a position he had never played in his professional career until this spring. When Norby joined the organization, he also moved from second to third to learn that on the fly. The club even briefly experimented with him in the outfield at camp.

Norby’s calling card has been his bat. It’s a matter of finding him somewhere to play. But the offensive production needs to return in order to warrant the opportunities. After Wednesday’s 2-for-4 performance, Norby has a slash line of .206/.357/.353. While the hits haven’t been falling, the approach has been promising.

“For Connor to be sporting a walk rate that he is sporting now in comparison to his career to this point is a good sign, just the kind of counts he's getting to and his calmness,” McCullough said. “... If that continues … nights like tonight will be regular.”

Added Norby: “It wasn't really a sense of urgency. We can joke around and say, ‘We need hits all the time’ and stuff like that, but it's 162 games. If you asked me this last year, I would have probably been in full panic mode by now. I learned a lot from last year. … I can't ride that roller coaster of emotion like I did last year.”