Edward Cabrera’s growing pains continue, but Marlins remain confident in his potential
Edward Cabrera needed just one more out to end the first inning Friday. The Miami Marlins’ rookie pitcher had retired the first two Tampa Bay Rays batters he faced at Tropicana Field with ease, getting a soft groundout back to the pitcher’s mound and a strikeout looking.
The crucial third out? Cabrera labored to get it — and it cost the Marlins.
The Rays scored three runs when four consecutive batters reached base with two outs before Cabrera finally walked off the mound after throwing 40 first-inning pitches.
Miami never recovered. The Marlins lost 8-0 to begin the three-game series with the playoff-bound Rays. It was the 13th time the Marlins (64-89) have been shut out this year and the fifth time they lost by at least eight runs.
“It’s something that’s going to happen,” Cabrera said of his first inning.
It was the latest learning experience for a 23-year-old with top-end potential who is learning what it takes to pitch in the big leagues. Cabrera, the No. 30 overall prospect in baseball, has had plenty of them through his first six MLB starts, a half-dozen outings that haven’t gone as planned or as hoped.
But the takeaway for Cabrera this season extends beyond a win-loss record or an ERA. The Marlins are watching to see how he responds to the struggles, how he adapts to teams adjusting to him and how he finds ways to elevate his game.
The results, the Marlins hope, will come in due time.
“I do think his demeanor is really good,” Marlins manage Don Mattingly said. “He pays attention to what he’s doing between starts. He’s having some growing pains. It doesn’t feel great at the time, but it has the chance to help him. The kid’s composed. I’m sure it speeds up on him at times, but he’s gonna be really good.”
After giving up back-to-back walks to start the second inning, Cabrera settled in and retired the final six batters he faced. The high pitch count from that first inning led to a short outing. Cabrera was done after 76 pitches over three innings. Six of his nine outs were strikeouts.
“You’ve got to keep working,” Cabrera said. “You can’t let those things erase the good things you’ve done.”
So what happened in the first inning? After those two outs, Cabrera loaded the bases with a walk to Ji-Man Choi on a full count, a Nelson Cruz groundball single and another full-count walk to Austin Meadows. Randy Arozarena then drove all three home with a hard-hit double to the left-field corner. He ended the inning by striking out Joey Wendle.
“The key is to stay calm,” Cabrera said. “Once you make a mistake, you have to think about the next guy. If you think too much, the game starts spinning. It gets fast.”
Of the seven batters Cabrera faced in the opening frame, five saw at least six pitches. Only three of the plate appearances began with a strike.
Through six MLB starts, Cabrera has a 5.79 ERA (15 earned runs in 23 1/3 innings) with 22 strikeouts against 17 walks.
“The numbers probably don’t look great,” Mattingly said. “It’s going to bother him, but it’s not going to deter him.”
Quite the opposite.
Cabrera knows there’s so much more he can do — and he wants to live up to the expectations. The growing pains are part of that evolution.
“When you’re here, you don’t want to be satisfied,” Cabrera said. “You want to continue to keep working and get better. Right now, things aren’t going the right way. You have to keep working to develop and get to that potential.”
The Rays (95-59) scored four total runs against Sean Guenther in the fourth and fifth. They tacked on another run in the seventh when Magneuris Sierra misplayed a Kevin Kiermaier flyball in center field that resulted in an RBI triple.
Catcher Sandy Leon pitched the eighth, throwing a shutout inning.
Offensively, Miami recorded just two hits — a Lewis Brinson single in the second and a Jesus Sanchez double in the fourth.
Early ejection
Marlins rookie outfielder Bryan De La Cruz was ejected by home plate umpire John Libka in the first inning following an inning-ending strikeout in which first-base umpire Manny Gonzalez ruled De La Cruz checked his swing. De La Cruz, adamant he didn’t swing, erupted in frustration following the call.
It was De La Cruz’s first career ejection.
Sierra took over in center field.
Pablo Lopez update
Time is running out, but right-handed pitcher Pablo Lopez took the latest step in his attempt to make at least one more MLB appearance this season.
Lopez, sidelined with a right rotator cuff strain since July 17, threw two scoreless innings for the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Thursday. It was his first live game action since Aug. 21, when his first attempt at a rehab assignment for the injury ended after just one minor-league outing.
The 25-year-old threw 35 pitches, 19 strikes, in the outing against the Memphis Redbirds on Thursday. He gave up a one-out double in the first inning and had another baserunner reach in the second inning on a fielding error.
Mattingly said Lopez is tentatively scheduled to rejoin the team during the road trip and throw his next bullpen session in front of pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
“And then,” Mattingly said, “we’ll talk about where we go next.”
The Marlins have nine games left to play this season.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 10:10 PM.
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