Bellozo’s strong outing not enough as Dodgers rout Marlins in series finale
Facing a star-studded Dodgers roster for the sixth time in ten days, the Marlins kept it competitive through the early innings on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to a stellar outing from right-hander Valente Bellozo. However, a controversial managerial decision and continued offensive struggles led to a lopsided 10-1 loss.
It’s been a literal up-and-down journey this season for Bellozo. The 23-year-old righty made a strong season debut March 29 against the Pirates, only to be optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville the next day to make room for a fresh arm. After a brief return to the majors to face the Mets — where he allowed just one run in 3 ⅔ innings — Bellozo was sent down again and made four starts for Jacksonville before rejoining the Marlins rotation to replace Connor Gillispie.
On Wednesday, Bellozo delivered one of the best performances of his young career. Against a Dodgers lineup featuring three future Hall of Famers, he held Los Angeles to just one hit over 5 ⅓ scoreless innings, striking out seven — one shy of his career high.
Bellozo cruised through five innings, keeping the game scoreless while Miami’s offense struggled to offer any support. But after recording his seventh strikeout to retire Austin Barnes for the first out of the sixth inning, manager Clayton McCullough made the decision to pull his starter.
“I think he did a terrific job with where he got us to, and we felt really good about using what we had left in the bullpen,” McCullough said postgame. “Couldn’t have asked for more from Valente.”
The decision was influenced by Bellozo’s splits. Opposing batters are slugging .617 against him the third time through the order, compared to .485 the second time and .379 the first time. With Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman due up, the analytics certainly favored the bullpen.
Even so, the Dodgers appeared relieved to see Bellozo leave the game.
“With Shohei and the top of the lineup coming back up for a third time, we liked what we had to piece the rest of the game together,” McCullough explained.
Bellozo expressed support for the decision. “I thought it was a really good decision,” he said. “Mentally, I knew Barnes was my last batter, and I understood the importance of getting that out for the bullpen.”
Unfortunately for Miami, the plan unraveled quickly. Recently promoted left-hander Cade Gibson, making just his second MLB appearance, was greeted by an Ohtani triple, followed by a Betts walk and a Freeman RBI single — giving Los Angeles a lead they would not give back. The Dodgers broke the game open in the seventh with six runs off Lake Bachar, then tacked on three more in the ninth against Ronny Henriquez.
“Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out today, but we liked how it was set up for those guys that were coming in behind him,” McCullough added.
The 10 runs marked the third time in the six-game season series that Los Angeles scored in double digits against Miami.
With the loss, Miami fell to 14-22 on the season. They travel to Chicago on Wednesday night to begin a three-game set against the White Sox beginning on Friday.