Jonathan Villar dug his feet into the batter’s box, squared to the pitcher and watched a 91 mile-per-hour fastball drift outside.
The at-bat, a lazy flyout to left field, didn’t count. The game, in which the Marlins blew an 8-0 lead and lost, 10-9, on a Matt Adams walk-off home run, would not register for anything meaningful.
“I feel like it’s more about the opponent, seeing somebody other than ourselves and getting to a little bit of a different mode,” said manager Don Mattingly before the game. “We can say all we want: you always want to be more prepared.