Replacement Marlins pitch in to secure series victory

You would think a disastrous weekend for a sports franchise is one accompanied by plenty of losing. In the Marlins' case, their misfortune largely transpired off the field. On Saturday, it was announced that Jesús Luzardo would be held out due to a lingering back injury. Accompanying the Luzardo news was that Braxton Garrett, scheduled to start Sunday's series finale, would also miss his next outing due to elbow discomfort. 

Skepticism would turn to pessimism when the club announced both would be headed to the injured list. It's a huge blow to a club that could have benefited from trading the likes of Luzardo (60-day) and Garrett (15-day) at the deadline, or perhaps felt more confident in them as long-term contributors had they gotten the reps to rebound from mediocre first halves of the 2024 campaign. 

And yet, in the absence of Garrett, the Marlins still found themselves on the right side of the win column, beating Seattle 6-4 to secure their second consecutive series win. Seattle starter Bryce Miller allowed all six of Miami's runs in his four innings of work, tying his outing against Texas on April 24 for his shortest of the season. In night-and-day fashion, the Seattle bullpen tossed four scoreless frames, allowing just three base runners. 

Threatening with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth with Miami closer Tanner Scott in for the fourth time in five days, the left-hander sealed Miami's 27th victory of the season when a 96.6 mph line drive off the bat of Julio Rodríguez found its way into the netting of second baseman Otto Lopez's glove.

Tyler Steps Up

In place of Garrett, the recently recalled Kyle Tyler put forth a strong effort in his first career Major League start. Though not pitching long enough to qualify for the win, Tyler limited the AL Central-leading Mariners to two runs over 4 innings of work.

"I was definitely nervous to start, but once I got to the bullpen and once the game got going, I was able to go out there and pitch the way I know how," said Tyler. 

Tyler largely worked around traffic a la three walks and a hit-by-pitch, though one of those walks—a fourth-inning issuance to Dominic Canzone—would come back to bite him when Luke Raley capitalized on a mislocated cutter to hit his ninth home run of the season. 

"Besides the three walks and hit by pitch, I thought he was really good" noted Skip Schumaker.

Though still using the cutter as his primary offering (46%), Tucker found success with his curveball, with two of the four swings-and-misses he got coming on the breaker. 

Replacement Parts Make Good 

Playing center field in place of Jazz Chisholm Jr.—who was relegated to designated hitter duties on Sunday—Nick Gordon pitched in early with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first. Vidal Bruján, manning shortstop on what was a scheduled day off for Tim Anderson, reached base twice during his three trips to the plate. 

Believe in the Bop

While hitting just .230 through his first 18 games in June, Jesús Sánchez has managed to slug .459 in those 61 plate appearances. His seventh home run of the season plated the Marlins sixth run of the game in the bottom of the third. 

While one look at Sánchez's surface-level numbers would lead one to cast off the Marlins' right fielder, his increased power output could be seen as a sign of the bad luck that accompanies his batted ball profile beginning to sort itself out. 

Of Note

- Of his 7 this season, 5 of Nick Gordon's home runs have come on Sundays. He has a 1.183 OPS on this day of the week.

- In addition to the news of Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett being placed on the injured list, Miami also announced they had optioned the recently recalled Shaun Anderson to Triple-A. The start of Anderson's tenure with his hometown club has been less than ideal, as the Coral Springs native has allowed 17 hits and 13 runs in his 5 ⅓ innings over his two starts since being acquired from Texas on May 30.

Looking Ahead

Miami's run of play against competitive teams will continue Monday when they open up the week in Kansas City to face the Royals. Roddery Muñoz (1-2, 5.76 ERA) will make his first career appearance against Kansas City in the series opener. AL Cy Young contender Cole Ragans (4-5, 3.13 ERA) will oppose him. 

First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is slated for 8:10 EST.