Photo: The Canadian Press
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Rookie Edward Cabrera pitched two-hit ball over eight innings in another impressive start, Charles Leblanc homered and the Miami Marlins beat the Oakland Athletics 3-0 on Monday night.
Cabrera walked the first two Oakland batters, then quickly found his groove. He wanted to finish the game and pleaded with manager Don Mattingly to go out for the ninth, but his night was done as a precaution to avoid potential injury.
“I like that he was fighting,” Mattingly said.
Cabrera (4-1) retired the final 14 batters in the longest outing of his career — he’d previously gone 6 1/3 innings last year. He struck out seven and walked three in the 101-pitch performance.
The 24-year-old right-hander has a 1.41 ERA in seven starts this season and continues to gain confidence with his steady pitching.
“I worked hard in the offseason on the little things to be more consistent,” Cabrera said. “I’m 100% confident in myself and my pitching.”
The A’s drew their second-lowest home crowd of 2,630.
Tanner Scott followed with one-hit relief for his 18th save. It was the Marlins’ first visit to Oakland since 2017, although they opened this season across the bay in San Francisco.
After Nick Fortes grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the Marlins first, Leblanc connected in the second off Adam Oller (2-6). The right-hander gave up three runs on five hits over six innings, walked a season-high five batters and struck out two.
The A’s knew they missed an early chance against Cabrera.
“That kid’s got really good stuff,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “We had him on the ropes in the first.”
Miami improved to just 3-10 playing in the state of California this season.
LUZARDO RETURNS
Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo returned to Oakland for the first time since being traded in July 2021 for Starling Marte.
In May 2021, he broke the pinkie on his pitching hand while playing video games. He later apologized to his teammates and then-manager Bob Melvin for the accident that occurred when he banged his hand into a table four hours before a start.
The 24-year-old Luzardo pitched for the A’s in the 2019 playoffs “that was unmatched for me.”
The trade brought on mixed feelings for Luzardo. He grew up in Parkland, Florida, cheering for the Marlins but leaving friends with the A’s was hard, because “I felt like this was home for me on the West Coast.”
“And at times I felt like they gave up on me, which kind of was just like a punch in the face or a wake up to reality, but at the end of the day it probably helped me out, kind of helped me kick it into high gear,” he said.
He is set to pitch the series finale Wednesday.
SOFT SPOT
Kotsay made his major league debut with the Marlins in 1997 under manager Jim Leyland and spent four seasons in Miami before being traded to San Diego in 2001.
“It brings back memories, for sure,” Kotsay said. “That organization will always have a good place for me in my heart and I was disappointed to be traded from there as a young player in a group that was coming up together and eventually ended up winning a World Series two years after I left. It’s still a great place for me. I should have kept my house there, too.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: 3B/OF Brian Anderson got a night as designated hitter to give his body a break.
ROSTER MOVE: Oakland designated RHP Austin Pruitt for assignment to make room for RHP Joel Payamps, claimed off waivers from the Royals on Saturday.
UP NEXT
RHP Pablo Lopez (7-8, 3.83 ERA) will face Oakland for the first time in his career in the middle game of the series Tuesday. Lopez has given up for or more runs in four of his last six outings.
LHP Zach Logue (3-7, 6.35) will pitch for the A’s looking for his first win since being recalled Aug. 13 for his sixth stint with Oakland this season. He is 0-2 with a 12.10 ERA in two starts since coming back.
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