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MIAMI — Marlins first baseman Justin Bour endeared the baseball world with his upper-deck power during Monday’s Home Run Derby, sure. But a little donut goes a longway, too.
Bour smashed 22 home runs during his first-round defeat to the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, but stole the show when teammate Giancarlo Stanton fed him a glazed donut during a timeout. The moment was orchestrated by Stanton and accepted by Bour.
“He came to me and said ‘If I bring a doughnut, would you take a bite out of it?’ ” Bour said Friday. “Iwas like ‘Of course I would.’ Then he asked me what kind. Krispy Kreme ismy go-to.”
Throughout Bour’s exhibition of power, he unfurled euphoric screams as his arms flew out to his sides. In short, the lefthanded hitter was having fun as the underdog against the eventual champion Judge.
“I think baseball is supposed to be fun,” Bour said. “People have personalities and we’re not just robots out there. We’re human beings that are different. I’m a little bit weirder than most people, but it’s the way I am and the way I’m going to be.”
Bour went first in his matchup against Judge, and set the bar high with his 22 homers. Judge beat him by hitting 23. Bour’s total was the second-highest round of the night, but he was eliminated in the first round.
Despite hitting 16 homers in the first round (fourth-best round of the night), Stanton was also bounced in the first round. When asked if the format should be changed to forgo head-to-head matchups and instead prioritize raw numbers, Bour shrugged.
“Honestly, it doesn’t really matter,” Bour said. “Hopefully, I get a call next year and get to do it again and I’ll just do better next year.”
But next year’s event won’t be the same as this year’s, not away from Bour’s home park in Miami.
“I don’t knowif I’ve ever heard Miami get like that,” Bour said. “Hearing everyone supporting and getting behind me, thatwas an unreal moment.”
Concern for Volquez
A left knee injury for right-hander Edinson Volquez could be more serious than initially thought, and he could potentially miss his scheduled start Sunday against the Dodgers.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Volquez underwent a MRI on Friday, but hadn’t received the results of it. Volquez was placed on the 10-day disabled list on July 7 with left knee tendinitis, one day after a truncated start in St. Louis.
Mattingly said Volquez threw back home in the Dominican Republic over the All-Star Break and added the club was worried “a little bit” about his knee.
“Just the fact that he had a little soreness early in the year and then he had soreness again and had to come out,” Mattingly said. “That’s the first time he had to come out of an outing. We don’t know if it’s something from the past, or something that may have kicked up with the ankle.”
Volquez injured his ankle in the same game he threw a no-hitter on June 3 against the Diamondbacks. He did not miss a start.
Mattingly said he was hopeful, but “not as optimistic as I was when I left for the break” that Volquez would make Sunday’s start. The Marlins would most likely turn to righthander Tom Koehler to fill the hole.
Rojas almost ready
Mattingly said injured infielder Miguel Rojas (right thumb fracture) is healthy enough to be activated to the major-league roster, but the club would like him to have more atbats during his current minor-league rehabilitation assignment.
“Physically, right now, if something were to happen to JT [Riddle], we would have a shortstop that could be here tomorrow and be ready to play,” Mattingly said. “He’s probably not as sharp baseball-wise as we would like him to be. We want him to get plenty of at-bats under his belt. He’s missed a long time and didn’t have that many going into when he got hurt.”
Rojas began his rehab assignment on July 8 and has split time between High-A Jupiter and DoubleJacksonville. In six games, Rojas is 4-for-18 with a double and a RBI. He’s played all four infield positions.
Rojas’ rehab could last up to 20 days, or July 28.