Muñoz shines in debut, but Miami's pen falters in loss

[Isaac Azout]

Roddery Muñoz gave Miami way more than they expected, but a sixth-inning bullpen implosion costs Miami a chance at a doubleheader sweep. 

Less than three hours after their most dramatic win of the season, the Marlins had nine more innings of baseball to play on Saturday night. Right-hander Roddery Muñoz made the start in his Major League debut vs. Japanese phenom Shota Imanaga. Muñoz, 24, was just as effective as Imanaga in game two of Saturday's twin bill, but it wasn't enough as Miami's bullpen faltered late and handed the Cubs their 13th win of the season. 

Muñoz was acquired for cash in the off-season after he was designated for assignment by Pittsburgh. He struggled in his three appearances for Triple-A Jacksonville, evidenced by his 10.97 ERA in 10.2 IP. Despite the struggles, Miami gave him the opportunity and appointed him the 27th man for Saturday's doubleheader. 

"He was throwing strikes, velocity was up. I mean, he pitched as good as anybody has this year. It was a really impressive start," said manager Skip Schumaker postgame. 

Impressive it was as the Dominican right-hander was able to get through five strong innings of two-run ball. He struck out seven and only walked one. He was greeted abruptly, though, in the first inning when Silver Slugger Award winner Cody Bellinger launched a 1-1 changeup over the wall in right field for his fourth home run of the season. 

Muñoz allowed a walk after the home run but then retired 14 straight. "I was pitching exactly where I wanted to. I located where I wanted and when I was missing, I was missing where I wanted to as well," said the right-hander through a translator. 

While Muñoz was mowing down Cub hitters, the Marlins were able to put up a crooked number against Imanaga. In the top of the fourth, Tim Anderson roped an RBI double to drive in Josh Bell and was followed by a Jazz Chisholm Jr. RBI single, which gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead. 

A couple of innings later, Bell, who had been struggling mightily as of late, took Imanaga deep to left for his third home run of the season and extend Miami's lead to 3-1. "Bell is a really good hitter. He's going to hit, there's no doubt about it," said Schumaker. "I think the last couple of games, he's been taking really good swings and has looked much better."

After retiring the 14 straight through five, Muñoz was sent back out for the sixth when he immediately gave up a titanic solo shot to Alexander Canario that trimmed the lead back to one. Schumaker went out to get Muñoz, but not before he patted his chest in encouragement. Muñoz's final line: 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 2 HR. He threw 77 pitches, 48 for strikes. 

Making your Major League debut is never easy, but to do so at the historic Wrigley field in front of 32, 389 screaming fans didn't make it much easier. "I was seriously a little bit nervous out there, I'm not going to lie," said Muñoz. "But in my mind, I was focused and I knew that I just had to be confident out there and I think I did that."

Right-hander Anthony Bender replaced Muñoz and that's where things went south for Miami. Bender allowed four hits, a walk, and three earned runs in 0.2 innings pitched. When it was all said and done, the Cubs had a 5-3 lead and never looked back.  "It just feels like very ball that's hit finds a hole. I don't think he's going to have a .500+ batting average against him all year, but we definitely have to get more outs with him later in the game," added Schumaker. 

 

For the Cubs, relievers Ben Brown and Hector Neris pitched three shutout innings to keep the game at 5-3 and secure the victory for the Cubs. They improved to 13-8 while Miami fell to 5-17. Imanaga improved to 3-0 on the season and Bender suffered the loss and blown save. 

Miami will look to salvage a series split on Sunday afternoon at 2:20 ET. Edward Cabrera will toe the rubber against Kyle Hendricks. 

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