Marlins' Bour and Ozuna's back-to-back HRs off deGrom, explained

The New York Mets and Miami Marlins faced off on Saturday evening, with the Mets sending one of the best starters in all of baseball to the hill in Jacob deGrom.

With the Mets up 1-0, deGrom was tasked with facing Justin Bour and Marcell Ozuna to begin his side of the second inning.

Of course, deGrom was on his way to a magnificent night, tying a career-best mark of 13 strikeouts in a game. But, as fate would have it, deGrom would dish up his first two long balls of the year - back-to-back jacks from Bour and Ozuna.

DeGrom is among the elite at suppressing home runs. Since breaking into the league in 2014, just 12 qualified starting pitchers have posted better HR/9 numbers.

So, how did Bour and Ozuna do it? Let's have some fun with Statcast and Baseball Savant and break it down:

Bour vs. deGrom

DeGrom had started the game a little wild in the first, issuing a walk and having two line drives hit off of him. The first pitch of the second inning was somewhat emblematic, a fastball missing the strike zone up and away against the left-swinging Bour.

To climb back against Bour, deGrom threw an 88-mph changeup belt-high, away that the hapless Bour swung through. It was six mph slower than the first-pitch fastball.

By the third pitch, a clear pattern was beginning to emerge. DeGrom threw a changeup belt-high and even further away for a ball, followed by a fastball that threatened the outside heart of the zone and a 3-1 fastball that clipped the outside of the zone for a called strike.

The count was now full, the game plan against Bour seemed obvious:

Stay away. Anything on the outer half of the zone keeps you alive. Per Brooks Baseball, that was also the book on Bour last season, as well. Also, according to Brooks Baseball, Bour does his most damage against pitches in the heart of the zone and down and in. What happens next?

DeGrom goes down and in with an 87-mph changeup that leaves the yard at 98.4 mph. Whoops.

Ozuna vs. deGrom

Like with Bour, the first pitch to Ozuna misses rather badly and deGrom falls behind 1-0, prompting a pitcher-catcher conference on the mound. Following Ozuna, the next five consecutive batters to face deGrom would interestingly see a first-pitch strike though.

Alas, behind in the count to the right-hander Ozuna, deGrom splits the plate with a 94-mph fastball on his next pitch - an incredibly dangerous pitch to offer Ozuna, and below his average velocity as well.

By the looks of it, batterymate Rene Rivera was setting up low and away. Regardless, Ozuna swings right through it to even the count.

Knowing he beat Ozuna on a challenge-pitch down the middle of the zone, deGrom - somewhat puzzingly - goes with an 81-mph, back-foot curveball that is promptly deposited in the seats at a 108-mph exit from the Marlins outfielder's bat.

It's a pretty great location for a pitch, to be honest, though it does catch a good chunk of the plate. And, to make matters worse for deGrom, Ozuna's best zones haven't been low and in; although he does fare well against inside pitches.

Bour and Ozuna mark the first time Marlins batters have ever hit home runs in back-to-back at-bats and, against deGrom, they certainly chose a difficult pitcher to make franchise history off of.

(Images courtesy: Baseball Savant)