Guardians neutralize Miami bats once again in series finale

[Louis Addeo-Weiss]

Despite an effectively wild outing from Trevor Rogers, the Marlins falter due to an eventful top of the seventh and the continued dominance of the Cleveland bullpen. 

"Good times always seem to find a way to beat you."

If you have followed sports, you have probably heard this uttered before. In their 6-3 victory over the Marlins Sunday, the Cleveland Guardians reminded us how this sentiment continues to reign true. 

Though he only allowed 1 run and 2 hits in his 5 innings of work, Miami's Trevor Rogers looked anything but aesthetically pleasing throughout. The left-hander walked four and hit a batter, throwing just 53.4% of his 88 pitches for strikes. 

"I thought he was good other than the first-pitch strikes. I thought he got back into counts, and got the double plays when he needed to," noted Skip Schumaker.

Of the 20 hitters he faced, Rogers threw first-pitch strikes to just seven of them (35%). Beyond the largely absent command, Rogers' only mistake of the day came when Gabriel Arias hit a well-placed, 92 mph sinker into the ivy in right-center field for his second home run of the season. The former All-Star mitigated damage through a pair of double plays he induced at the mercy of José Ramírez and David Fry.

Though they hit a pair of home runs in the loss, Marlins hitters continued their struggles against a dominant Cleveland pitching staff. 

Working 4 ⅔ innings of two-run ball, 15-year veteran Carlos Carrasco opened the afternoon by retiring the first nine hitters he faced before a Jazz Chisholm Jr. solo blast ended the no-no and shutout bid for Carrasco. 

Miami would take a short-lived 2-1 lead following a Nick Gordon RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. One inning later, though, David Fry would pen a single of his own to even the score at 2-2. 

Carrasco gave way to a Guardians bullpen that entered play with an MLB-best 2.35 ERA. Miami's bats were again reduced to futility as each of the first 13 hitters were set down by relievers before Jake Burger's solo home run off Emmanuel Clase snapped the streak. In 10 ⅓ innings pitched across the three-game series, Cleveland's bullpen allowed 5 hits and struck out 15. 

And just as good teams always find a way to win, they too tend to capitalize on their opponent's mistakes. Case in point, in the top of the seventh, following a throwing error by Burger that allowed both Brayan Rocchio and Steven Kwan to take an extra base, center fielder Tyler Freeman hit Cleveland's second home run of the day, a three-run blast against reliever A.J. Puk.

With the win, the Guardians improve to 40-22 under first-year manager Steven Vogt. Meanwhile, Miami, now 22-43, has opened the month of June by going 1-6.

 

Of Note

- Minimum 85 pitches, Trevor Rogers' 47 strikes Sunday tied him with Ryan Weathers' outing on April 4 for the fewest by a Marlins starter this season. 

- Jake Burger's ninth-inning home run marked the first allowed by Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase since 9/29/23, snapping a stretch of 30 consecutive outings to begin the season without allowing a home run.

- Miami is now 14-14 all-time in regular season matchups versus the Guardians.

 

Looking Ahead

Miami will resume play Tuesday when they open up their six-game road trip in New York against the Mets. Jesús Luzardo (2-5, 5.30 ERA) will toe the rubber in the series opener in what is set to be his eighth career start against New York. Opposing him, Tylor Megill (1-2, 3.00 ERA) gets the ball for the Metropolitans. 

First pitch from Citi Field is slated for 7:10 EST. 

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

It was good to see Burger's homer after his rough game up to that point - waiving at everything and then the throwing error. As is often the case for those of us watching every game, I'm focused that the Marlins are not fundamentally strong. Teams with light power and undistinguished lineups must play fundamentally well in the field combined with effective pitching. Pitching injuries have certainly turned the staff upside down. Yet, simply watching, we see many unproductive outs, for example. Perhaps it is simply that the players do not possess the skills necessary to execute the required plays., i.e., productive outs, or what we used to call (gasp) situational hitting. It's thus not sacrilegious to question some of Schumaker's moves and ask if inefficacious coaching is a contributor, despite the temptation to promote Schumaker as the anti-Bendix/Sherman standard-bearer. 

[Slacker Mills]

Hard to get favorable count for Marlin hitters, seeing how they swing at everything. It's hard to imagine that a whole team could suffer from the same problem, but it's true. Opposing pitchers glide through the Miami lineup without having to throw a single pitch in the strike zone.