Miami Marlins lose fifth consecutive game on road trip to drop to 20 games under .500
Once again, the Miami Marlins have lost a game on this road trip.
The latest defeat: 6-5 to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday at Petco Park.
With that, Miami is now a season-worst 20 games under .500 with a 47-67 record. The Marlins have lost all five games on this road trip so far.
Austin Nola’s RBI single to left in the seventh inning off Richard Bleier — the only ball put in play against the Marlins reliever that left the infield — scored Adam Frazier for the go-ahead run. Frazier reached on an infield single to the left side with the Marlins in the shift and advanced to second base on a Manny Machado groundout before scoring.
The Marlins had the game-tying run in scoring position in the ninth after Sandy Leon hit a leadoff double, but Mark Melancon retired the next three Miami hitters to end the game.
Shortstop Miguel Rojas and left fielder Jorge Alfaro each had two hits and two RBI, while center fielder Magneuris Sierra scored twice while having a multi-hit game of his own.
Garrett’s struggles
About three weeks ago, Braxton Garrett’s best start of his MLB career came against the Padres. He struck out 10 while giving up just two earned runs over seven innings on that July 24 night.
It was a different story Tuesady. Garrett gave up five runs on eight hits in 3 1/3 innings while earning a no-decision.
He pointed to three specific pitches that had an impact on the outing.
First: A curveball to Jake Cronenworth in the first inning on a 2-2 count. The 79.7 mph pitch didn’t break and landed right over the heart of the plate. Cronenworth lined it to right field for a two-out RBI double. Austin Nola drove Cronenworth in with a double of his own one pitch later.
“If I get that down and out a little more,” Garrett said, “it’s all right.”
Second: An 0-1 slider to Eric Hosmer to lead off the fourth inning, another pitch that was essentially middle-middle in the strike zone that resulted in a double.
“Just not enough conviction there,” Garrett said.
Third: An 89.9 mph sinker to Tommy Pham with the bases loaded that went wild, allowing Hosmer to score. Pham hit an RBI single two pitches later to end Garrett’s night.
Two Marlins undergo surgery
Marlins first baseman/right fielder Garrett Cooper (UCL in left elbow) and infielder prospect Jose Devers (right posterior labrum tear) underwent season-ending surgery on Tuesday.
Cooper had a .284 batting average with nine home runs, 33 RBI and 30 runs scored in 71 games this season. Cooper’s surgery will sideline him for about five months, but Marlins general manager Kim Ng said they anticipate he’ll be ready for Opening Day of the 2022 season.
Devers made his MLB debut on Aug. 24 and played 21 games with the big-league club. He hit .244 in that span with three doubles, five RBI and seven runs scored in 46 plate appearances.
Chisholm update
Rookie middle infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. was heading back to Miami on Tuesday. Chisholm, who was scratched from the Marlins’ lineup against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday with flu-like symptoms, did not travel with the team to San Diego and was placed on the injured list Monday.
“He was feeling better, but, obviously, we want to take precaution and make sure that he gets rested and he’s ready to go once we can evaluate him before we start the next series,” acting manager James Rowson said Tuesday. “He’s in good spirits, he’s feeling better. We’re still taking it a day at a time. Once we get back, we’ll be able to evaluate it probably even further.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 1:36 AM.
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