J.T. Realmuto was 90 feet from home, the front of his uniform soiled by a belly slide into the bag to complete a leadoff triple, and for the first time Wednesday the Marlins had Stephen Strasburg on the ropes.
It was the fifth inning. There was no score.
But Realmuto advanced no further. Strasburg struck out Derek Dietrich, then A.J. Ellis, and after intentionally walking Miguel Rojas to get to pitcher Adam Conley, got a weak fly ball for the third out.
In a series that saw the Marlins fall back to earth, it was par for the course.