After lineup shake-up, Marlins offense shut down by Giants lefties

[Isaac Azout]

SAN FRANCISCO — On a cold, overcast afternoon at Oracle Park, Miami’s offense failed to provide Eury Pérez with much run support as the Marlins fell to the San Francisco Giants, 6-2. With the loss, Miami drops back under .500 at 13–14.

“I liked the way we made [Robbie] Ray work, got him to 70 pitches halfway through the third. We just couldn’t cash in, but overall I think our guys did a good job making him work,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said postgame. “The guys who came out of the pen for them did a good job. They threw the ball well and were able to shut us down.”

Making his sixth start of the season, right-hander Eury Pérez looked to build on what had been his best outing of the year at home against Milwaukee last Sunday. The 23-year-old tossed six innings of three-hit ball in that start, allowing no earned runs while striking out seven to earn his second win. McCullough’s message for Saturday was simple: get ahead early—something Pérez did effectively.

Pérez was dominant through his first five innings, allowing just one walk while striking out six. Miami held a 1–0 lead at the time. He leaned heavily on his elite fastball, throwing it 61% of the time—in line with his season average. He generated nine whiffs overall, seven of which came on the fastball, which averaged 98 mph.

“It was part of the plan to focus on the fastball, and I think it was working very well for me,” Pérez said through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “In that inning, I think they started to expect it, and they capitalized.”

In the bottom of the sixth, Pérez allowed a double to Matt Chapman, and one batter later, Casey Schmitt launched a two-run homer to give San Francisco a 3–1 lead.

“It was a fastball, and all the hard contact they got on me was on the fastball, unfortunately,” Pérez added.

He then walked Jung Hoo Lee, marking the end of his afternoon.

Pérez’s final line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO (Anthony Bender allowed one inherited runner to score).

Overall, the young right-hander’s last two outings have been encouraging as his command has sharpened and he has largely avoided the kind of big innings that hurt him earlier in the year.

“I thought he was fantastic,” McCullough said. “The strike-throwing was much better—other than a couple of leadoff walks, he filled it up with a good heater and was able to get hitters into tough counts. He kept us right there, but Schmitt just put a good swing on a fastball up and in.”

As of Saturday night, Pérez is 2–2 with a 4.60 ERA, while his xFIP sits at 4.37. His next start is scheduled for Friday, May 1, against Philadelphia in Miami.

 

Offense shut down

Thirteen hours after putting up nine runs on 16 hits, Miami, as expected, rolled out an entirely different lineup vs. the left-hander Ray. Impact bats such as Liam Hicks and Owen Caissie were sat in favor of Heriberto Hernández (.479 OPS) and Leo Jiménez (13 AB since March 30, .643 OPS). The Giants also used southpaws Matt Gage and Erik Miller for an inning apiece in relief of Ray.

The Marlins have made it clear they intend to stand by their philosophy of putting players in the best position to succeed, which means utilizing the platoon advantage against a veteran left-hander like Ray. Unfortunately, thus far this year, the non-everyday players inserted into the lineup against left-handed starters have performed poorly, which has cost the team.

Austin Slater—DFA’d on Thursday—produced a .367 OPS vs. LHP. Hernández has a .467 OPS. Jiménez a .282 OPS.

Meanwhile, left-handed bats the Marlins view as long-term pieces, such as Caissie and Marsee, have produced OPS marks of .718 and .694.

The team has only played 27 games, so the sample size is still minuscule. However, following a game in which the offense had arguably its best performance of the season, it may be worth trotting out a similar lineup the following day, despite the opposing pitcher throwing from the left side.

From both a development and competitive standpoint, it hasn’t made much sense to continue allowing Hernández to start against left-handed pitching—or any pitching, for that matter.

“I continue to believe that Bert can get this thing going and come around,” McCullough said of his corner outfielder. “He’s a good option versus left, and we’ll continue to give him opportunities to do so and that’s how I see it at this point.”

Hernández has one extra-base hit on the season in 21 games (.197 SLG). 

With the win, the Giants improved to 12-15 on the season and have forced a rubber match on Sunday afternoon. Max Meyer will get the ball against right-hander Landen Roupp.

View full article