MIA 1, LAD 2; Zac Gallen and Co. fall short against the Dodgers

The Marlins lost a close one in Dodger City last night. Zac Gallen went up against arguably the best pitcher in baseball, Hyun-jin Ryu. This uneven matchup played a lot better than I would of thought.

Zac Gallen: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K

Hyun-jin Ryu: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

The Marlins and Dodgers ran through the first three innings of Friday's game at a steady pace. The Fish had opportunities in both the second and third innings to score a run, but faltered. The Dodgers also had their own opportunity during the second inning, but nothing came from it.

The Marlins scored the first run of the game. It only took two hits, Harold Ramirez struck first with a single. Jorge Alfaro then brought out the power with a double to left field, scoring Ramirez in the process.

The one run lead sadly would not be enough. The Dodgers did not wait long to reply, scoring two runs in the sixth. Gallen got into trouble quickly, allowing a lead off single to Alex Verdugo. Justin Turner then drew a walk on four straight balls. The command struggles did not stop there for Gallen. He also walked A.J. Pollock to load up the bases.

The Dodgers got their two runs via force out and a fielding error by Starlin Castro. Castro who is a dependable steady hand at second did not have a good night. He went 0-4 at the plate and had two miscues. The second one occurred in the eighth, luckily it did not cost a run.

The Fish were not able to do much with their bats. They had a total of four hits on the night. Two of the four hits occurred in the same inning. If the hits are not followed up by a home run then it is difficult to score much on four hits. Ryu had a great night keeping the Fish quiet.

Miami’s bullpen did a good job of keeping the Fish in it. Jarlin García got two outs without trouble. José Quijada and Wei-Yin Chen gave up three hits over two innings. The Fish had a chance all the way until the end. The Dodgers have almost double the amount of wins that the Fish have, yet it felt like at any moment a comeback could happen.

Next up, Sandy Alcántara will be facing Clayton Kershaw Saturday at 9:10 ET.

Fish Picks answer key

1. Marlins
2. Under
3. Under
4. No
5. Dodgers