Marlins beat Twins, time as baseball finds its answer to endless problem

MIAMI — Hello, and welcome to loanDepot park for the first pitch between — oh, there’s one out! — the Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins on — that’s two outs! — Wednesday afternoon as we time baseball’s new rule change to … stop the clock! Three minutes, three outs! Fast and foremost, the top of the first inning Wednesday still felt like the top of the morning one week into a new baseball era. Who hasn’t fallen in love with the pitch clock?

It’s safe to watch baseball again without packing an overnight bag. The seventh-inning stretch isn’t a wake-up call to various body parts.

Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to the cro—

Well, OK, there were 8,981 fans at Wednesday’s series-closer for the Marlins. Some things don’t change quickly. The disaster of Derek Jeter (he made people actually miss Jeffrey Loria) and the lack of Marlins payroll (the

New York Mets pay more for their luxury tax) this opening, 3-4 homestand looks like a glimpse into the season.

The good news: You won’t suffer for as long, Marlins fans. Once the pitcher gets the ball, he has 15 seconds to start his windup for the next pitch. Or the ump calls a ball. The batter has to be looking at the pitcher, ready to hit, with eight seconds left on the clock. Or the ump calls a strike.

“Who can’t do that?” Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. said. “There’s some adjustment for some guys. But the only time I was taking that long if I didn’t like a call and wanted to calm down.”

Well, the Marlins’ Avisail Garcia has been called for two strikes for being late to the plate, tardy for the party or whatever analytical phrase baseball uses. But the impact is clear. The average baseball game consisted of