MIAMI — The Marlins, expecting to face All-Star Shane McClanahan on Tuesday in the first of two games against the Rays, instead faced a collection of Tampa Bay relievers in a bullpen game. McClanahan was pulled minutes before the first pitch due to a left shoulder impingement, and right-hander Shawn Armstrong was given the ball in his place.
But the Marlins weren’t able to take advantage, dropping the series opener, 7-2, at loanDepot park.
“[It] was kind of bad all around,” manager Don Mattingly said.
“We didn’t play a good game,” shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “[It] seems like we came out, like, really flat, no energy. … It’s not the cleanest game that we play, especially after we thought that we played really well against the Dodgers [over the weekend]. This game tonight was kind of deflating for everyone.”
It started with the fifth inning. Jesús Luzardo, despite allowing a pair of runs on a leadoff walk and three hits in the third inning, had been solid. He started the game with three strikeouts in two innings. And although it wasn’t his best start of the season, it was enough to keep the Marlins in the game.
But then Luzardo allowed a one-out single to Jose Siri — who finished a triple shy of a cycle — and a double to Yandy Díaz in the top of the fifth. After inducing an RBI groundout from Manuel Margot, Luzardo went to field a fairly routine ground ball that Randy Arozarena bounced towards the third-base side of the mound.
Luzardo fielded the ball cleanly and turned to throw to first base with Arozarena just halfway to the bag. But Luzardo appeared to rush, and he threw the ball harder than necessary (80.1 mph). His throw went down and to the right of first baseman Garrett Cooper, who had just reached the bag.
Arozarena made it to second base on what should have been the final out of the inning. He then stole third with Harold Ramírez batting.
Not long after that, Ramírez hit a ground ball to Rojas at shortstop. The knock, which had a 98 mph exit velocity, went under Rojas’ glove and into left field. Arozarena scored, and the play was ruled a single.
“I’m human,” Rojas said. “I miss balls, too, sometimes.”
“I think [Miggy] would be the first one to tell you that he probably should have had that ball,” third baseman Joey Wendle said. “Anytime there’s a play that’s makeable and it’s not made … you give a team like the Rays a couple of shots, they’re going to take advantage of it.
“But we have seen him play shortstop long enough. We know he makes that play 99 times out of 100. So it’s not something that I’m particularly concerned about.”
The Rays took advantage of Luzardo’s error and the single past Rojas to the tune of a 5-0 lead. If neither play had happened, the Marlins would have trailed 3-0 and might have been able to build momentum in later innings.
Luzardo delivered a quality start, the 50th this season from a Marlins starter, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks while recording four strikeouts over six innings. It marked the 39th time Miami scored fewer than five runs when its starter went at least six innings.
“Offensively, we’ve got to score more than two runs,” Wendle said. “We’ve been saying that for, you know, a month at this point, which I’m sure everybody’s getting tired of hearing. But yeah, it’s a winnable game, and … we weren’t even in it really.”
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