Marlins shut out on Opening Day as offense falls flat and Rays hit late home run

Don Mattingly thought there was a chance. From the Marlins manager’s perspective in the third-base dugout, Jesus Aguilar’s fly ball to left in the ninth inning had the right launch angle and it seemed like it was hit hard enough.

Aguilar wasn’t as convinced as he trotted down the first-base line only to land in Rays outfielder Manuel Margot’s glove on the warning track.

One batter later, the Marlins’ Opening Day fate was sealed.

The final score Thursday at the newly named loanDepot park (most of you still know it as Marlins Park) in front of a socially distant crowd of 7,062: Rays 1, Marlins 0. Austin Meadows’ solo home run in the eighth accounted for the game’s only run.

“You thought it might have a chance,” Mattingly said, “but it didn’t get small. You can tell certain balls get small quick and that one didn’t accelerate in that term. I knew it was going to be close, but when it first came off, it’s at the right trajectory and the right area of the ballpark.”

Aguilar’s introspection on the close-but-not-close-enough drive: “I thought there was a chance because I hit it to the corner, but I didn’t hit it good. That’s the game. That’s the game. Of course, you want to compete until the last at-bat and score a run in that situation, but I didn’t get it good.”

Aguilar had two of the Marlins’ three hits in their loss, the fourth Opening Day shutout in the franchise’s 29-year history (also 2013 against the Washington Nationals, 2006 against the Houston Astros and 1996 against the Pittsburgh Pirates), as Rays starter Tyler Glasnow and co. held Miami’s lineup in check.

The Marlins (0-1) didn’t have a runner in scoring position until the eighth inning when Jorge Alfaro reached on a one-out infield single and stole second with two outs. He was stranded when Corey Dickerson flew out to left field.

It spoiled a solid start from Sandy Alcantara, who threw six scoreless innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.

It also made it possible for one powerful swing to be Miami’s demise.

And after being saved by loanDepot park vast outfield twice in the eighth inning, Yimi Garcia finally watched a mistake cost him. Meadows’ 419-foot solo home run to right-center field gave the Rays (1-0) all the offense they needed on Thursday.

The other two flyballs in that inning traveled 354 feet from Margot and 392 feet from Yoshi Tsutsugo.

“Yimi missed his spot,” Mattingly said.

But one loss isn’t making the Marlins doubt their preseason optimism as they attempt to reach the playoffs for a second consecutive season.

Aguilar said phrases along the lines of “we’ll be all right” five times in his five-minute postgame press conference.

“We’re facing a good team,” Aguilar said, “but good teams also have to play with us. It was a great game. It was a close game. We’re going to come out [Friday] with the same attitude and try to win Game 2.”

The stuff of aces

A bright spot from Thursday: Alcantara, the Marlins’ Opening Day starter for a second consecutive season, showed why he is the leader of the rotation and why his performance will play a large role in Miami’s success this season.

The 25-year-old veteran of the Marlins’ pitching staff held the Rays (1-0) to just two hits — a groundball single to Randy Arozarena in the first that bounced off Jesus Aguilar’s glove and a line-drive double to Brandon Lowe in the fourth — and two walks while striking out seven during his six innings of work.

Alcantara is just the third pitcher in Marlins history to pitch at least six innings on Opening Day and not give up a run. The others: Kevin Brown in 1997 and Josh Beckett in 2005.

“I felt really good,” Alcantara said.

He worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the first by striking out Kevin Kiermaier. He stranded Lowe after the leadoff double in the fourth by getting Yandy Diaz to line out to center and then striking out Kiermaier again and Willy Adames.

While his sinker that hits 98 mph is still his primary pitch, Alcantara continued to incorporate his changeup into his pitch mix and found success. He threw the pitch 18 times and recorded 11 strikes, including six swings and misses.

Sixto’s down

The Marlins announced pregame Thursday that right-handed pitcher and top prospect Sixto Sanchez reported “slight discomfort” in his throwing shoulder after throwing during a simulated game at the team’s alternate training site in Jacksonville.

Sanchez was originally scheduled to throw five innings or 75 pitches. He threw two-plus innings when he started feeling the discomfort. He was removed from the game as an “extra precaution.” His next steps are still being discussed.

This story was originally published April 1, 2021 at 6:55 PM.

Jordan McPherson

Miami Herald

305-376-2129

Jordan McPherson covers the Miami Hurricanes and Florida Panthers for the Miami Herald. He attended the University of Florida and covered the Gators athletic program for five years before joining the Herald staff in December 2017.