Ozuna robs Simmons of XBH, then homers

May 27th, 2017

MIAMI -- Marlins left fielder took away a potential extra-base hit with his glove in the first inning on Saturday at Marlins Park, then capped his day with an opposite-field home run in the ninth.
The two highlight plays revealed the different ways Ozuna can impact a game -- in the field and at the plate. But the end result was the Angels holding on for a 5-2 win over the Marlins, who continue to struggle stringing together consecutive victories.
Ozuna stood his own with three hits, including his one-out shot to right field off . Statcast™ projected the drive at 344 feet with an exit velocity of 98 mph. It wasn't a vintage, laser-beam drive for Ozuna, but it showed his power when you consider the top height of the homer was 62 feet.
"I liked that at-bat," manager Don Mattingly said. "We've had some games where that last inning just seems like giveaway at-bats. Ozuna homers, J.T. [Realmuto] walks, and we're a hit away from getting the tying run up in the ninth. Ozo stayed on the ball out there over the plate and gets us a home run."
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Defensively, Ozuna made a highlight play in the first inning, robbing of extra bases.
Off the bat, it appeared Simmons had connected on a home run off , but Ozuna tracked the ball to the wall in left field, leapt and made a terrific catch.
"I just was a little more aggressive and had more concentration on my defense because I made a little mistake on catching a fly ball [Friday]," Ozuna said. "I was like, 'Today, let's go play hard and do everything for my teammates.'"

In Friday's 8-5 win, Ozuna was more passive on a couple of liners that went for extra-base hits over his head at the wall.
"It was going to hit the wall if I didn't catch it," Ozuna said. "I was focused on not being afraid. If I hit the wall, I hit the wall."
Statcast™ projected Simmons' liner at 374 feet with an exit velocity of 96.9 mph. Working in Ozuna's favor was the ball appeared to lose steam at the end, with a hit probability of 41 percent. Ozuna traveled 63 feet to make the play.
Ozuna said if he didn't catch the ball, it was going to bounce off the wall.
Ozuna's catch loomed large because the next batter, , crushed a home run onto the concourse level, projected at 443 feet with an exit velocity of 113.8 mph.
Instead of two runs, the Angels ended up with one in the first inning.
"I didn't know it was going to keep going," Worley said of Simmons' long fly. "It was definitely a nice catch. I saw some highlights, as well. He did a good job timing it. It's not easy."