Marlins Latest Victim of Slam Diego, Drop Series Opener

SAN DIEGO -- Monday morning, Marlins starting pitcher Johnny Cueto was placed on the 15-day IL with a viral infection. As the corresponding move, LHP Ryan Weathers was recalled from AAA Jacksonville to make the start on Monday night. Making his first one as a Marlin, Ryan ran into inclement "Weather" in Slam Diego as Miami dropped the series opener, 6-2.

The Marlins acquired Weathers as part of a three-player trade on August 1 when they sent first-baseman Garrett Cooper and RHP Sean Reynolds to the Padres on Deadline Day. A former seventh overall pick, the acquisition of Weathers seemed like a project for Mel Stottlemyre Jr. and Miami as he'd struggled in the Majors since being rushed to the big leagues during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Facing his former team on Monday night, Weathers had a rough time throwing strikes and managing his nerves, especially against his buddy Ha-Seong Kim.

In the bottom of the first, Kim laced a double down the right field line and later scored on a Manny Machado sac fly. In the following inning, facing the bottom of the order, Weathers walked the bases loaded with one out for the team leader in WAR, Ha-Seong Kim. The infielder belted an 0-2 pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam, the first of his career.

While the pitch was on the black, manager Skip Schumaker said "a little bit up and in would have been more ideal. It was in, but if you ask him, 0-2 count, he maybe wants it in a different spot."

Weathers would settle in after that, throwing two scoreless innings after the grand slam. "I just started hitting my spots better, started locating, getting ahead of the count. I think all those walks and hits obviously came from behind in the count so I put an emphasis on getting ahead and staying aggressive."

Weathers' final line was: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR. He threw 83 pitches, only 45 of them for strikes. Walks continue to be an issue for the left-hander, as he went into Monday's outing walking 9.8 batters per nine innings.

"You can't walk five guys. Against a good team up and down the lineup, to walk the bottom of the order to get to the top, it's just not ideal," said Skip postgame. "We're at the point in the season that every game, inning, and pitch is meaningful, and we can't give free passes."

"Lots of nerves, you know. Still pretty fresh, it's only been 20 or so days since I've been traded. There were just a lot of emotions today and it was just a weird outing. I felt the misses were small. With the grand slam, if I don't walk three people, it's a solo shot instead of four runs," Weathers told the media. "I hate that Kim got me, Kim's one of my better friends over there. All those guys, you know. The Padres were all I knew. I got drafted by them when I was 18. Just a lot of emotions that went into it today."

When asked what the plan is moving forward regarding that fifth spot in the rotation, Skip was non-committal. "We'll talk about it later, yeah. We don't have an exact plan, we're just going to watch and see how Weathers did and make a decision moving forward."

If Miami decides not to give Weathers another start, options are slim for their rotation opening. Edward Cabrera, who was optioned to AAA Jacksonville on August 2, has also struggled with command all season long, evidenced by his 6.1 BB/9.

Another option is Bryan Hoeing, who pitched 4.2 innings of one-run ball on Monday night, essentially saving Miami's pen for the rest of the roadtrip. He's shown promise in a long-relief role and could potentially give Miami a start this weekend against Washington.

Miami would muster a couple of runs in the top of the sixth inning, as former Padre Josh Bell belted his seventh home run as a Marlin. The solo shot tied him with Charles Johnson for the most HR in their first 18 games as a Marlin. A couple of batters later, Jesus Sanchez would double home Jake Burger to cut the lead to 6-2.

That's where the offense stopped for both teams as Miami dropped the series opener and fell to 64-62. With Arizona's dramatic walk off win on Monday night, Miami now sits 1.5 GB of the third Wild Card spot. Jesús Luzardo gets the ball on Tuesday night looking to even the series at one game apiece. He will oppose 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.

News and notes:

• Luis Arraez left Monday's ballgame in the third inning with a stomach cramp. He told reporters postgame that he started feeling uncomfortable after the second inning and told Skip. "When I got here, I felt great. I saw the ball well, but after my second at-bat, I felt a cramp in my stomach so bad. I couldn't breathe for two seconds so that's when I knew it wasn't something good," said Arraez. He says he's hopeful he'll feel better on Tuesday.
• Jake Burger recorded two more hits, raising his batting average as a Marlin to .373.
• Jazz Chisholm Jr. went 0-for-4 on Monday night, making him eight for his last 44 (.182 BA).

Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images