Marlins don’t ‘drop the hammer’ on Astros but continue positive trend to start road trip
%20(1).JPG "Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena, right, steals second base as Miami Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas reaches for the throw from catcher Nick Fortes during the fifth inning of a baseball game Sunday, June 12, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)")
The last time the Miami Marlins were in this city, playing in this ballpark, they saw their most successful season under their current ownership group come to an end.
The Marlins left Houston’s Minute Maid Park after getting swept by the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves in the neutral-site National League Division Series to cap their run in the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season.
They weren’t expected to get to the playoffs, especially after a COVID-19 outbreak sidelined a bulk of their roster early in the season.
But here they were, defying the odds to get a wild card spot and sweep a wild-card series with the Chicago Cubs to get to the playoff’s second round.
“Just a good time for us,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said Friday, “being here and being part of that.”
After a step back in 2021 with a 67-95 record and a bad month of May this season set them back in the standings, the Marlins returned Houston this weekend for the first time since that playoff defeat to begin a three-city road trip that is pivotal for their chances to return to the playoffs.
The road trip started on a strong note, even if the finale from the first leg ended on a sour note.
The chance for a series sweep against the defending American League champions and current AL West leaders was there for the taking, but the Marlins had to settle for winning two of three against the Astros after a 9-4 loss on Sunday.
Bryan De La Cruz hit a three-run home run off Justin Verlander in a four-run seventh inning to cut the Marlins’ deficit to one run, but the Astros got all four runs back in the eighth on a Jose Altuve three-run home run off Louis Head and a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly against Aneurys Zabala.
Edward Cabrera gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings to put the Marlins in an early hole.
Miami (27-31) won the first two games of the series by scores of 7-4 on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday. The loss snapped the team’s five-game win streak. Houston improves to 37-23.
“Would have liked to drop the hammer today,” Mattingly said postgame, “but we weren’t able to do that.”
The Marlins have, however, been able to gain ground they lost after a horrible May in which they went 7-19 to fall to eight games under .500.
The Marlins split a doubleheader with the Colorado Rockies to begin the month and have won seven of their past 10 games since then. That includes splitting a four-game set with the San Francisco Giants and taking two of three against the Astros on the road with a series sweep of the Washington Nationals in between.
“Playing in meaningful games is huge,” reliever Anthony Bass said. “You really learn how to stay within yourself. I think guys are learning that right now. It’s a very valuable lesson and hopefully we get the chance to put those lessons to the test in October.”
At four games under .500, Miami still has a ways to go to be in position to play those meaningful games in October, but this mini run of success, if nothing else, is keeping them afloat.
They key now is sustaining it.
And that won’t necessarily be easy.
The rest of the teams in the division are heating up as well, with the Braves on an 11-game win streak and the Philadelphia Phillies rattling off nine consecutive wins before losing Sunday.
The Marlins start a three-game series with the Phillies (30-30) on Monday before capping their road trip with four games against the NL-leading New York Mets (39-22 entering their late game Sunday against the Los Angeles Angels), a team Miami will play 11 times total over the next 26 games.
“We’ve got a tough stretch,” Mattingly said, “but it never really stops. It’s getting to that point during the season that you’ve got to start thinking about winning series, winning series, winning series.”
.JPG)