NEW YORK — The count was full and the situation was key for the 24-year-old outfielder making his MLB debut on Sunday. Jerar Encarnacion had the bases loaded in the seventh inning and the Miami Marlins trailing the New York Mets by a run. A ball into the outfield ties the game.
He did more than that.
On the sixth pitch of his third at-bat, Encarnacion lifted a 93.3 mph Seth Lugo sinker that was near the middle of the strike zone toward right field.
The ball carried. And carried. And carried a little more.
Finally, Mets right fielder Starling Marte finally stopped running and watched as the ball landed in the Citi Field seats.
Encarnacion’s first career hit: A go-ahead grand slam in Miami’s eventual 6-2 win over the Mets to snap a three-game losing streak and improve to 29-35 on the season.
Encarnacion, ranked the No. 20 overall prospect in the Marlins’ slapped his right leg and pointed to the sky as he rounded first base on a nearly 23-second trot and clapped his hands as he stepped on home plate before Miguel Rojas, Jacob Stallings and Bryan De La Cruz embraced him.
He became the second player in Marlins history to hit a grand slam in his debut, joining Jeremy Hermida (Aug. 31, 2005).
And his home run provided more than enough run support for Sandy Alcantara’s latest gem. The Marlins’ 26-year-old ace held the Mets (44-24) to two earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out eight over eighth innings.
Sunday was Alcantara’s eighth consecutive start in which he pitched at least seven innings while allowing no more than two earned runs. It’s the longest such streak in MLB since Feliz Hernandez did it in 16 straight starts in 2014.
Alcantara also has thrown 63 2/3 innings over this eight-start span, becoming the first pitcher to throw at least 63 innings over eight starts since Chris Sale and Clayton Kershaw both did it in 2016.
Encarnacion’s power at the plate is undeniable, with 124 career extra-base hits in the minor leagues.
An international free agent signing in 2015, he jumped up in the Marlins’ prospect rankings after a breakout 2019 season when he hit 16 home runs and had 71 RBI over 131 games at the lower levels of the minor leagues. He capped that season with an impressive showing at the Arizona Fall League, during which he hit the game-winning grand slam in the league’s championship game.
A canceled 2020 minor-league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and an injury-filled 2021 season delayed his development before returning to form this year. Encarnacion had 13 home runs in the minor leagues this season and a .313 batting average and .903 on-base-plus slugging percentage in 57 games across time with the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp before his call-up.
But while his production at the plate gets most of the recognition, Encarnacion is capable of making big plays from the corner outfield spots. He has 41 career outfield assists in the minor leagues.
He made his first as a big-leaguer in the third inning when he threw out Tomas Nido who tried to leg out a double on a ball hit to right field. Encarnacion’s throw to second base was clocked at 91.6 mph. Alcantara retired the side six pitches later.
Four innings later, Encarnacion’s hit became the difference maker. Three of the Marlins’ first four batters reached base in the seventh on a Rojas single, Stallings single and De La Cruz walk to chase Mets starter Chris Bassitt and bring Lugo to the mound.
Encarnacion took an elevated curveball, swung at an elevated and inside fastball, and took three more pitches (two balls, one strike) to work the count full before hitting the grand slam.
Miami added a fifth run in the frame on a Jon Berti double that scored Jazz Chisholm Jr., who drew a two-out walk.
Encarnacion scored a second run in the ninth when he reached on a fielding error, stole second and scored on a Chisholm double that just stayed fair down the left-field line.
