Bour’s blast not enough to rescue Marlins in 4-3 loss

The streak lives on—dating back to last season, the Marlins have lost 11 consecutive games started by José Ureña. He was solid again on Sunday (6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K), but deprived of run support until it was too little too late. The Braves held on 4-3 and took three of the four games in this NL East matchup.

Shortstop Yadiel Rivera had a communication issue with Cameron Maybin in the first inning on a routine pop-up, allowing the ball to drop and plate the first run of the afternoon. Ureña settled in from there, but the Braves eventually padded their lead the third time through the lineup on this Ender Inciarte home run.

Although Rivera was the only Marlin charged with an error, Starlin Castro couldn’t convert on either of the grounders hit to him in the ninth inning. That insurance run made it 4-0 and proved to be necessary for Atlanta.

Pinch-hitting with two runners on in the bottom of the inning, Justin Bour stroked a home run to right-center against Arodys Vizcaino. The closer would retire his next two opponents in order. That drops the Marlins to a 3-6 record in games decided by one run.

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Bour has quietly rounded into form after battling an achy back for parts of April. The home run boosted him to a .837 OPS for the season, which is actually slightly above his career mark (.832).

Meanwhile, we’ll keep an eye on a couple injury concerns that arose during the later innings. X-rays came back negative for both Brian Anderson and Miguel Rojas, but both will be evaluated further.

Losing six of seven over the past two series gave the Marlins their worst record in any calendar week so far.

Next up, they have an off day Monday to rest, recover and refocus. The also-slumping Los Angeles Dodgers will then come to town for three games (May 15-17).

Win Probability chart courtesy of FanGraphs

Kingfish: Sean Newcomb (.356 WPA)

Flounder: Maybin (-.134)

Play of the game: Inciarte’s home run (.196)

Attendance: 7,435

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Matchup Summary

The Marlins are going to lose games frequently this season, but it’s painful to lose like that. For the second time in the series, Drew Steckenrider allowed the Braves to pull in front during the later innings. He had otherwise been having a dominant 2018. The recent struggles nearly quintupled Steckenrider’s earned run average from 1.08 to 5.19.

Fish pitchers have contained standout rookie Ronald Acuña Jr. However, first baseman Freddie Freeman continues to dominate them (8-for-12, 3 HR).

There was some concern about Starlin Castro’s availability on Mother’s Day after seemingly tweaking his back in the ninth inning. Fortunately, he avoided an injury and will start at second base.

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A full month-and-a-half into the season and José Ureña remains winless. That’s not a reflection on him, but rather the lack of run support the Marlins provide with him on the mound—literally, no starter in MLB gets less help than Ureña.

There’s some hope for a turnaround on Sunday. Miami’s bats came alive the previous two nights with double-digit hits in each contest. Meanwhile, Braves lefty Sean Newcomb has been hot as well, particularly when it comes to racking up strikeouts.

Thread Question: Which veteran player has been most disappointing so far this season? Forget about the contracts—just looking at production.