Born again: Justin Bour helps Marlins begin anew in July
MIAMI -- June proved to be a trying month for the Miami Marlins. Not only did they go 12-15 and fall further back in the National League East, but they lost several key players, including Giancarlo Stanton, to injury.
Justin Bour could say the same about the start of summer.
On May 31, he was batting .369 with home runs in three consecutive games. With Michael Morse slumping and then landing on the disabled list, Bour got the majority of work at first base. Over 21 games, though, he hit just .138 (9 for 65) with two doubles, two homers and four RBI.
But the calendar turned to a new month on Wednesday night, and Bour blasted a three-run walk-off homer off right-hander Santiago Casilla in the Marlins' 6-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Bour connected on a 1-0 offering -- a 93 mph fastball -- and sent it over the right-field wall for his first career walk-off homer. The club's last came on April 18, 2014, when Stanton produced a grand slam against the Seattle Mariners.
"I felt good the last couple of days," said Bour, who has homers in back-to-back games. "Didn't really get the results I wanted to a couple days ago, but as long as I'm hitting the ball hard I'm happy."
Selected in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 Draft two winters ago, Bour had gotten off to a fast start when called up in 2015 but saw his numbers dip beginning on June 1.
During Bour's slump, manager Dan Jennings noticed his timing off. He wasn't allowing the barrel of the bat to arrive out front. Bour called himself "jumpy" and out of his approach of late.
"He really swung the bat well for us when he first came up this year, then he had a little spell there where his timing was off," Jennings said. "Over the last 3 to 4 games you can see the timing come back. He's a strong, physical kid. Very handsy hitter for a guy that size. He's not just a power hitter. He's a hitter. When he got that ball tonight down in that zone great to see, certainly a great boost inside that dugout for this ballclub."
By going 2 for 4, Bour bumped his average to .261. His eight long balls rank second on the team behind Stanton (27).
It was an act of redemption for Bour, who committed an error in the third that allowed an unearned run to score. He also couldn't pick a few balls in the dirt at first that weren't ruled miscues on his part.
"It wasn't (a crisp game), but that's the game of baseball," Bour said. "You can't really ever give up. You got to play all nine. I wasn't happy with myself early in the game with some of the at-bats I took. I had a choice to either let that bother me or suck it up and finish the game as hard as I can. If I didn't do that I don't think I would've got the hit I did right there. It's important to play all nine innings."
Miami collected its first series win since mid-June and looks for the sweep against the 2014 World Series champions with ace Jose Fernandez returning from Tommy John surgery on Thursday afternoon.
Entering Wednesday, the Marlins were 0-42 when trailing after eight innings.
"Bour worked the count, got it in his favor," Jennings said. "Got the ball in the lefty's wheel house and he did the damage. Tremendous walk-off win for this ballclub. These guys have been fighting. Sometimes you get something like this (and) it's a great boost for you as you play a team like the Giants."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
