MIA 1, STL 2; Marlins Offense Wastes Tremendous Rogers Start

Trevor Rogers earned himself another quality start, but the Miami Marlins’ offense could not pick him up. Rogers, who gets more run support than any other Miami starter at 5.08 runs per game, needed to be perfect on a night where the bats went cold again against the St. Louis Cardinals.

But a Paul Goldschmidt RBI-single in the sixth inning was Rogers’ only blemish. Until then, the Fish were clinging to a 1-0 lead. In six innings, he only gave up three hits, one run, and struck out six. He brought his ERA below 2.00. The Cardinals were the team he struggled against in his first start of 2021. After giving up three runs in four innings, he has posted a 1.88 ERA in 12 starts.

But the Marlins offense could not give Rogers any support, despite multiple chances to break things open. Starling Marte walked and Jesús Aguilar singled to start the third inning. Both runners were able to advance 90 feet when Cardinals center fielder Dylan Carlson missed the cutoff man. Adam Duvall then drove home Marte on a single to center field, and was also able to move to second base when Carlson missed his cutoff man again. With runners on second and third with no outs, Miami recorded three straight outs to strand the runners and settled for just the one run.

“You always kind of mark your card in different innings and different situations,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “That was the opportunity right there. If we can get a couple hits together, it kind of breaks that game and gives us a little more breathing room. Obviously we didn’t, and it seemed like that kind of killed our momentum really the rest of the game. We didn’t get anything going after that.”

Cardinals starting pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim wasn’t exactly sharp, either. Kim only threw 49 of his 102 pitches for strikes. Kim is the first pitcher since 1997 to go more than six innings against the Marlins while throwing more balls than strikes.

Leading 1-0 in the sixth inning, Rogers made a string of crucial mistakes that ultimately led to the Marlins’ demise Tuesday night. With Jose Rondon pinch-running at first base, Rogers made an errant pickoff throw that allowed Rondon to reach third base. He would then score on a Goldschmidt single.

Goldschmidt wasn’t done torching the Marlins. Tied at 1-1, Goldschmidt led off the ninth inning with a solo home run to walk off the Marlins.

The Marlins and Cardinals have a getaway day on Wednesday. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound against Johan Oviedo at 1:15 p.m.

Miscellaneous Notes

-Jesús Sánchez made his MLB debut Tuesday. He went 0-for-4 with 2 Ks.

-The Marlins are now 5-14 in one-run games.

-Anthony Bender threw another scoreless inning in the seventh. He has started the 2021 season by going 17 ²⁄₃ consecutive innings without allowing an earned run.

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