Marlins make moves at trade deadline but fall to Phillies. Takeaways from the loss
Off the field Tuesday, the Miami Marlins swung three deals ahead of MLB’s trade deadline to improve the roster for a playoff push.
On the field Tuesday, the team showed why those moves needed to be made in a 3-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies at loanDepot park.
Miami falls to 57-51 on the season, while the Phillies fall to 58-49.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
No big hits ... which explains the trades
The Marlins’ effort on offense Tuesday was just the latest example explaining why the Marlins went out to add a pair of bats in Jake Burger and Josh Bell at the deadline.
Miami had 11 hits and four walks on Tuesday, 15 baserunners ripe for multiple chances to tack on multiple runs.
Instead, they stranded 11 runners and hit into two double plays.
The only run scored came from a third-inning RBI double from Avisail Garcia that scored Luis Arraez, who led off that inning with a single and moved to second base on a Bryan De La Cruz single.
They had so many spoiled chances.
They loaded the bases in the first. No runs.
A leadoff single in both the second and fourth. Double plays.
A leadoff walk in the seventh, but catcher Jacob Stallings was tagged out trying to score from first on an Arraez double. Miami proceeded to load the bases after that blunder but stranded all three when Garcia popped out and Jesus Sanchez hit a flyout.
The team needed RBI producers in a contact-heavy lineup. Garcia and Jazz Chisholm Jr. were internal additions returning from injury that helped that cause.
The arrival of Bell and Burger, the Marlins hope, will do the same.
Sandy Alcantara’s gem wasted
It has been rare this season that right-handed pitcher Sandy Alcantara has put together consecutive dominant outings.
After throwing a complete game against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, Alcantara followed it up with eight shutout innings against the Phillies. The Marlins’ ace and the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner held Philadelphia to just four hits and one walk while striking out five. He threw 101 pitches, 74 of which went for strikes.
This is the version of Alcantara that Miami needs to see down the stretch. Alcantara struggled in the first half of the season, pitching to a 4.72 ERA in his first 18 starts.
If he can return to even a semblance of his Cy Young form from last season down the stretch, it will be all the more beneficial for the Marlins’ playoff run.
But instead of giving Alcantara a chance to toss a second consecutive complete game, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, however, opted to go with David Robertson for the ninth inning.
The decision backfired, with Robertson giving up three runs in the frame. He walked Kyle Schwarber to start the inning, gave up a game-tying RBI double to Bryce Harper and then hung a slider over the heart of the plate to Nick Castellanos that was taken for a go-ahead two-run home run.
Marlins can’t justify a slide after buying at deadline
The Marlins by no means are out of the playoff race. There are 54 games left in the regular season and Miami is still within a game of a wild card spot.
But the team can’t afford to let these first two losses to the Phillies manifest into something more. They’ve already weathered an eight-game losing streak since returning from the All-Star Break. Another long spell could put them in serious danger, especially considering how tough their schedule is this month.
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