Schanuel's 399-Foot Bomb Flips the Script in Miami

Nolan Schanuel's two-run homer to center in the seventh inning swung Miami's win probability from 61% to 25% in a single swing, turning a tied game into a 4-2 Angels lead. Los Angeles held on for a 4-3 final, with Mike Trout and Schanuel each going deep.

The story of the night was a game that changed hands three times before Schanuel settled it. Trout got Los Angeles on the board immediately — a 400-foot shot to right center in the first inning, the kind of statement that makes a ballpark go quiet. But Miami answered in the fourth when Kyle Stowers drew a walk that scored a run and knotted the game at 1, then took the lead outright in the sixth when Stowers singled to center to score Marsee and make it 2-1. Stowers finished 4-for-4 with 2 RBI — a perfect night at the plate that, for six innings, looked like it might be enough.

The seventh is where Los Angeles took the game away from Miami for good. A fielding error by pitcher Ekness allowed Lowe to score and Trout to reach safely, tying it at 2. Then Schanuel stepped in and hit a 399-foot homer to center, scoring Trout and pushing the lead to 4-2. That one swing moved Miami's win probability from 61% to 25% — a 36-point collapse in a single at-bat. It's the kind of moment that defines a game, and Schanuel delivered it when the Angels needed it most.

Miami's bullpen kept things interesting. Michael Petersen threw 1.1 scoreless innings and Calvin Faucher added a clean inning with two strikeouts, but the damage from the seventh was already done. Leo Jiménez singled to center in the ninth to score Ramírez and cut the deficit to 4-3, and the Marlins appeared to have some life — but that's as close as they'd get. On the pitching side, neither starter was sharp: Tyler Phillips allowed 5 hits and 1 earned run over 4 innings for Miami, while George Klassen matched him with 4 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, and 4 walks for Los Angeles. The Angels' bullpen, not Phillips or Klassen, is what looks like the difference in this one. Schanuel's homer was the hammer; the pen just had to hold the nail in place.