Miami Marlins split road series with Diamondbacks. Next up: Three with the Dodgers
The question surfaced on Tuesday night as the Miami Marlins’ losing streak stretched out to four games.
The Marlins dropped the final two games of their homestand to the Milwaukee Brewers and the losing carried over to their first two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Frustration was mounting. The offense was spotty on its best days in that mini stretch
How will the team respond? Will the frustration linger and spiral as their second extended road trip gets underway? Or would they figure out their problems and start rallying?
“You have to find a way to bounce back,” shortstop and de-facto captain Miguel Rojas said, “and show some fight.”
For the next two days, the Marlins fought.
And they won.
And they left Phoenix on a high note.
The Marlins strung together consecutive wins to close their regular-season matchup with the Arizona Diamondbacks, first with a 3-2 win on Wednesday and then a 5-1 win on Thursday to split the four-game set in Phoenix.. Miami (17-20) went 5-2 overall in seven games against Arizona (17-21).
“They let us know,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “they’re not going anywhere.”
The win streak and getting some momentum came at the right time. The Marlins next face the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series. Pitching matchups will be a premium over the weekend at Dodger Stadium.
Sandy Alcantara faces Clayton Kershaw on Friday. Trevor Bauer faces a to-be-determined Marlins starter on Saturday. Pablo Lopez and Walker Buehler close out the series on Sunday.
“That’s going to be fun,” Rojas said.
Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood
Trevor Rogers, a New Mexico native, threw six strong innings for the Marlins on Thursday to improve to 5-2 on the year. The 23-year-old lefty pitched with about 20 to 25 friends and family members — including his parents, girlfriend and high school coach — down the first-base line.
“I heard them every pitch,” Rogers said.
And the Diamondbacks heard Rogers. He limited Arizona to one run on four hits and two walks while striking out seven. His season ERA dropped to 1.84.
His biggest sequence came in the sixth inning. The Marlins had just re-taken the lead on a Brian Anderson RBI single.
“OK. They did their job. I have to do mine,” Rogers told himself as he went back to the mound.
Four pitches later, Asdrubal Cabrera laced a single to center field.
Rogers wasn’t happy.
“That put a little fire under me and pissed me off,” Rogers said. “I’m not going to let them tie this game. Had a little more aggression, a little more intensity.”
Rogers’ response?
He strikes out Eduardo Escobar swinging on four pitches.
He strikes out Andrew Young on six pitches.
He strikes out Josh Rojas on five pitches.
He did his job.
“He looks like he’s going to be one of those guys that is going to keep battling and keep doing his thing,” Mattingly said.
Run support
The offense did more than enough to back up Rogers.
Magneuris Sierra opened scoring in the third when he led off the inning with the double and came home on a bouncing Rojas groundball single.
The Diamondbacks tied the game in the fifth before the Marlins scored four consecutive runs to put the game out of reach.
Anderson, who entered the sixth inning mired in an 0 for 10 slump, gave the Marlins the go-ahead run with an RBI single that bounced past first baseman Cabrera and into right field. The Marlins then tacked on three more runs in the seventh on consecutive hits from Jesus Aguilar, Corey Dickerson and Adam Duvall.
“They kept the line moving,” Mattingly said. “The guys took their hits. They’re always trying to get them. That was big for us to add on late in the game.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 12:36 AM.
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