With dominant pitching and deep lineup, Marlins have first 5-game win streak since 2020
The Miami Marlins believe they’ve finally found a way to win at a high level. Their three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals might be proof.
The Marlins won with offensive depth Tuesday, behind standout pitching Wednesday and by winning a war of attrition Thursday. Miami was tied with the Nationals into the seventh inning — and both teams’ lone early run was heavily aided by suspect defense — before a pinch-hit RBI single by Jesus Sanchez finally gave the Marlins the lead on their way to a 3-2 win in Washington.
It was Miami’s fifth straight win — the Marlins didn’t have a five-game winning streak all of last year — and its first sweep of the season and it won the series finale with three usual starters on the bench.
“It’s just a different vibe in this locker room,” starting pitcher Trevor Rogers said. “We just know that we can do it this year.”
Rogers — one of three starters Miami (10-8) envisions as potential aces — fired six innings and only gave up one run when Nationals second baseman Cesar Hernandez led off the game with a single, got all the way to third base on a wild pitch and passed ball, and scored on a one-out double by Washington first baseman Josh Bell. Utility player Jon Berti, starting his sixth game of the season, tied the game at 1-1 in top of the third when he laced a two-out double to score shortstop Miguel Rojas, who had led off the inning by getting on base via error.
To win the game, the Marlins played matchups. Outfielder Bryan De La Cruz started in place of Sanchez in center, but manager Don Mattingly turned back to Sanchez after Nationals starting pitcher Patrick Corbin left the game and the outfielder delivered the go-ahead hit in the top of the seventh inning.
Star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr., who has the third best slugging percentage in the National League, didn’t play at all and Miami still managed to win.
“The days we play a lineup like this, you know you’re sitting there with three guys that you kind of can pull off the bench and try to match up if you get a chance to,” Mattingly said.
With a left-handed pitcher on the mound for Washington (6-15) and the Marlins on Day 3 of an uninterrupted 16-day streak of games, Mattingly sent Sanchez, Chisholm and utility infielder Joey Wendle — his three most productive batters so far; all left-handed hitters — to the bench and Miami was unfazed. In the three-game sweep, seven different players drove in runs and seven players scored.
As important as the offensive contributions were, Rogers — and the entire starting rotation — has made this strategy tenable. After he gave up a leadoff single and a double to the third hitter he faced, Rogers (1-3) set down 15 of the next 18. Those three to reach safely came from: an error; a walk, which was quickly wiped away by a successful pickoff; and another walk, which was also wiped away when Rogers induced an inning-ending double play. No National got past first base against Rogers in his final five innings.
The 24-year-old lefty, who was an All-Star as a rookie last year, gave up just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts in six innings, and handed the ball off to a mostly rested bullpen. In the three game series, Miami threw its top three starting pitchers — Rogers, Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez — and they combined to allow just two earned runs over 18 innings.
“It’s so much fun,” Rogers said. “All five of us are just out there competing, kind of get the competitive juices going. We’re all competitive and we want to outdo each other, but in a good way to help this team win.”
When he threw his final pitch in the bottom of the sixth, Rogers had kept the game tied 1-1, despite an eight-strikeout gem from Corbin. In the top of the seventh, Corbin (0-4) finally slipped and Mattingly unleashed his bench to win.
After Corbin gave up a leadoff double to outfielder Avisail Garcia and hit Rojas in the face with a pitch, Nationals relief pitcher Victor Arano — a right-handed pitcher — took over and Mattingly reinserted Sanchez. The 24-year-old Dominican swung at a pitch beneath the zone, and still slapped it into the hole between first and second base to bring home the go-ahead run.
By the end of the inning, a smattering of boos from the 12,454 at Nationals Park greeted Washington as a wild pitch let Rojas score to push the Marlins’ lead to 3-1 and send the last-place Nationals to an eighth straight loss.
On the strength of its longest winning streak in 20 months, Miami is solidly in second place in the NL East as one of only two teams in the division with a winning record.
“You have to be able to string together wins if you’re going to go anywhere,” Mattingly said. “That shows you that hopefully our club’s getting ready to play every day.”
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Marlins’ Rojas sustains jaw contusion
Rojas briefly stayed in the game after being hit by a pitch in the seventh inning and actually came around to score, but the Marlins diagnosed him with a jaw contusion after the game. He was also tested for a concussion.
It was a scary scene as Rojas squared to bunt and Corbin’s pitch ran up to hit Rojas in the face. The infielder was fortunate to have a protective flap on his helmet to protect him from the worst-case scenario.
Still, he stayed down on the field for several minutes as trainers examined him. He scored on a wild pitch later in the inning, then Miami replaced him with catcher Jacob Stallings for the bottom of the seventh.
Up next
After a six-game road trip, the Marlins head back to Miami on Friday to start a six-game homestand — three games against the Seattle Mariners and three against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Marlins host the first of three games against the Mariners (11-8) at 6:40 p.m. at loanDepot park. Starting pitcher Elieser Hernandez will be on the mound for Miami against Seattle pitcher Matt Brash.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 3:51 PM.
