Norby-less Fish make it close

[Louis Addeo-Weiss]

The 91st Marlins loss of the season came at the expense of another inconsistent Adam Oller start and featured a milestone home run by Andrew McCutchen. 

"It's not how you start, it's how you finish," as the saying goes.

In the case of Adam Oller on Tuesday night, the story was more nuanced than that. 

While his outing was underwhelming on the surface—allowing six runs over five innings—that does not tell the whole story. After allowing a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, the Marlins right-hander settled in, holding Pittsburgh scoreless over the next three innings. 

The end, however, would come when Andrew McCutchen, now in his 16th season in the Majors, blasted his 20th home run, a three-run blast in what accounted for his 319th career long ball. McCutchen becomes the 87th player in the expansion era (1961-present) to have 20 or more home runs in at least 10 different seasons. 

And when manager Skip Schumaker is running out a lineup void of Connor Norby—a late scratch after fouling a ball off his foot in Monday's 3-2 loss—Miami was well behind the starting gun in their eventual 6-4 loss. Norby has hit .312/.354/.636 with six home runs in 19 games since joining Miami.

The Marlins would make it interesting at points, plating a pair of runs in the sixth, including an RBI double off the bat of Kyle Stowers. He also doubled in his previous plate appearance, snapping an 0-for-24. Miami would plate a fourth run in the ninth before Pittsburgh closer Aroldis Chapman locked down his second save in as many days.

Javier Sanoja batted leadoff for Miami and made his first career start at shortstop in place of a resting Xavier Edwards. Sanoja drew a walk against Chapman on Monday and this time lined a 101.6 mph heater to the opposite field for a single.

Additionally worth noting, George Soriano struck out four Pirates in three scoreless innings of relief to author what was arguably the finest of his 20 Marlins appearances this season.

Now 37 games under .500, Miami (54-91) is closing in on their fourth 100-loss season. 

 

Looking Ahead

The Marlins will bid farewell to Pittsburgh in 2024 when they conclude their series against the Pirates on Thursday.

Jonathan Bermúdez (5.79 ERA) will make his first career Major League start in place of the injured Max Meyer. Bailey Falter (7-7. 4.45 ERA) will face Miami for the first time since the beginning of the season when he allowed 6 runs over 4 innings on March 31. First pitch from PNC Park is slated for 12:35 EST. 

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

Soriano's performance, length and quality, is the silver-linjng takeaway. 

Regarding the season series, I suspect stats like that are of little consolation. The Pirates and their fans are totally disappointed by the season. In truth, all the NL Central teams looking up at the Brewers are disappointments. St. Louis fans, loyal and knowledgeable, are showing it by staying home.