Trevor Rogers' strong outing not enough in series-opening loss

[Kevin Barral]

In the first meeting of the season between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta's offense broke loose in the seventh inning.

MIAMI, FL—On Friday, the Miami Marlins began a six-game homestand. These first three games in particular have some added pressure as it's the first NL East clash of the season against the Atlanta Braves. A strong start for Trevor Rogers wouldn't be nearly enough as the Fish fell to the Braves, 8-1.

Rogers allowed eight hits and struck out five in the process. He limited the Braves—MLB's highest-scoring team—to only two runs, keeping it close for the Marlins to mount a potential comeback. He gave up nine hard-hit balls, which according to Baseball Savant is when the ball leaves the bat at 95 mph or more.

"I think the last couple of starts actually have been okay," said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "Like one or two innings that he wishes he had back, but he's pitching now. A few years ago, he had 97 with big velo blowing by guys. He's just figuring out how to pitch, which is really a testament to (Mel Stottlemyre Jr.) and the game-planning that's going on."

Although Rogers' changeup made an impact, generating five whiffs (the most of all his pitches), the four-seam fastball ended up being his bread-and-butter. He struck out three with it, two of them coming in as swinging strikeouts.

"We talked about a lot of guys who were really good throughout that lineup with in-zone spin," said Rogers following the game. "I really had to live on the edges with spin. I think the changeup was probably the best option as far as secondary stuff."

In the top of the first inning, an Ozzie Albies base hit followed by an Austin Riley RBI double gave the Braves a 1-0 lead. It wasn't until the top of the fifth that Rogers gave up his second run of the game. Shortstop Orlando Arcia led the inning off with a double. With two outs, Albies singled off a first-pitch changeup to drive him in.

"I probably would have changed the Albies one," said Rogers. "He was kind of diving out there, but that's my pitch. I'm going to try and deal with my strengths. I have no regrets there, but if I were to redo it again, I would probably show them some heat close before going back to that."

What stood out Friday night for Rogers was his ability to work well with runners on base, specifically in scoring position. In the top of the first inning, after allowing the RBI double, he struck out back-to-back hitters to end the inning. In the third inning, Rogers had two of the fastest runners in Acuña and Albies on the corners, but he was able to strike out Matt Olson for the second time that night. 

In the top of the seventh inning, the Braves extended their lead and would never look back on. George Soriano, who came in relief of Rogers, got him out of the sixth-inning jam, but wasn't able to get out of the seventh. He was taken out with the bases loaded and in came Andrew Nardi.

The big difference for Nardi between 2023 and 2024 is his execution in high-leverage situations with inherited baserunners. Unable to retire Olson, Marcell Ozuna or Adam Duvall, the left-handed reliever ended up allowing all three of Soriano's runners to score.

The Marlins' only run of the game came on an Emmanuel Rivera RBI single which drove in Jazz Chisholm Jr. Aside from that, Max Fried was almost perfect, going 6 ⅓ innings, giving up one run off of four hits, one walk and struck out four.

The Marlins fell by a final score of 8-1, dropping to 2-12 on the season. They are back at it on Saturday as Max Meyer takes the mound. First pitch will be at 4:10 p.m.

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

I was encouraged by Rogers' outing - the Ks, velocity, and ability to work out of scoring situations, as Kevin noted. I love Bruján's play at the plate and another nice one in the hole. The arm looked strong with accurate throws. Glad he contributed, especially after his unproductiveness was mentioned on the FOF podcast last nine. I even commented that he has been a virtual no-show and Ely discussed DFA scenarios. He has good situational awareness, especially since d'Arnaud was the runner. Also discussed on the podcast was Cabrera's imminent return. The Marlins could use a solid bump from his first start back. 

[Ely Sussman]

3 hours ago, THOMAS JOSEPH said:

I was encouraged by Rogers' outing - the Ks, velocity, and ability to work out of scoring situations, as Kevin noted. I love Bruján's play at the plate and another nice one in the hole. The arm looked strong with accurate throws. Glad he contributed, especially after his unproductiveness was mentioned on the FOF podcast last nine. I even commented that he has been a virtual no-show and Ely discussed DFA scenarios. He has good situational awareness, especially since d'Arnaud was the runner. Also discussed on the podcast was Cabrera's imminent return. The Marlins could use a solid bump from his first start back. 

I'm still extremely discouraged by Bruján's quality of contact. There are some similarities to Xavier Edwards, except that Edwards is even faster and has a better understanding of the strike zone.

I don't know how you justify keeping Bruján on the roster once Edwards is back to full strength. Otto López and Tristan Gray can force a change even sooner if they maintain what they've been doing so far in Jacksonville.