Marlins Fall to Dodgers 7-0

EXTIRPATE: verb / ex*tir*pate / ˈek-stər-ˌpāt

1 a: to destroy completely : WIPE OUT

b: to pull up by the root

2 :to cut out surgically

(shout out to Merriam-Webster)

Really not much of a better term to describe this afternoon’s game against the Dodgers. The Marlins seemed feckless (another M-W word I’ve cataloged for future Scrabble events) against the boys in blue. Outside of the Marlins’ four hits tonight, there wasn’t much of a chance of victory.

There’s nothing... and I mean nada to even mention in regards to today’s offense. Overall, the Marlins looked not only inept but incapable of figuring out Kenta Maeda and the Dodgers.

That’s okay. We’re supposed to have games like today. The Dodgers, AKA the league champions from last season, aren’t supposed to lose to their season series against the Marlins and the Cincinnati Reds.

Caleb Smith was not on this afternoon. Nope. Not at all. Smith was honestly pretty awful this afternoon. Does this change my opinion of him? Not in the slightest. He was obviously contending against a roster that has (previously) proved itself lethal. So I’ll accept today’s bumps and bruises.

Smith went 3 IP with 4 ER. The wheels fell off in the third inning following the walks of Yasiel Puig, Chris Taylor, and Austin Barnes. Justin Turner the Wildling doubled to left and allowed Puig, Taylor, and Barnes to score. Turner would then score off of Matt Kemp ground rule double so the score was a very unfortunate 4-0.

The Marlins would somehow attempt to fix this issue by calling up Junichi Tazawa... You can probably guess what happen next as Tazawa would give up a home run to Puig and a double to Taylor that scores, yep you guessed it, Taylor and Barnes. Ergo, the score is now 7-0.

The score would remain the same throughout the game as Tyler Cloyd would hold the Dodgers to 5 IP.

No Marlins batter was really even competitive today as Maeda was able to go 8 IP and Kenley Jansen closed out the 9th effectively. According to Fangraphs WPA (wins probability added) stat, only Yadiel River and Derek Dietrich would have some positive impact to the game. Both of them only had 1 hit a piece.

FanGraphs.com

Swordfish: Derek Dietrich (.040 WPA, which might be one of the lowest Marlins WPA in quite a while)

Flounder: Junichi Tazawa (I don’t care what the numbers say...it was JT)

Moment of the Game: The Moment Junichi Tazawa came in after CaleBBBB Smith

Please leave any Icthy picks in the comments below. Remember, we just introduced a new grand prize for the contest this season! Here are the updated 2018 standings entering this weekend.

Matchup Summary

Caleb Smith has been hot lately, as he has struck out at least 5 batters in his last 4 starts. Fish Stripes own Ely Sussman gave an excellent look at him in his Rookie of the Year post.

He’s on pace to rack up more strikeouts than José Fernández did in 2013. Although Smith won’t match him in the run prevention department (Fernández had a 2.19 ERA), he has job security in the Marlins rotation during a non-competitive season. In his sixth year as a professional pitcher, the Huntsville, Texas native is not being overprotected due to workload concerns. If the team does shut him down prematurely as dictated by an innings limit, we’re talking about losing a couple weeks, not months.

Smith’s two worst performances—at the Phillies (4/5) and at the Yankees (4/16)—were affected by cold, windy conditions. He issued 11 walks in those starts compared to only eight in his other six games combined, throwing 68.7 percent of pitches for strikes. With help from Marlins Park’s retractable roof and improving weather across the United States, it’s reasonable to assume that there’s more “KKKKKaleb” than “CaleBBBB” in his future

Thread Question

What one unsung player in the league would you take in a heartbeat and why?