SEA 7, MIA 3; Missed scoring opportunities haunt Marlins as streak is snapped

MIAMI, Fla.—On a Sunday afternoon the Marlins came into the third game of a three-game set against the Mariners going for the sweep. The pitching matchup couldn’t have been more exciting: Logan Gilbert vs. Sandy Alcantara with an opportunity for the Marlins to win their 8th straight overall.

In this start, Sandy did not have the high-quality stuff we know Sandy is known for. He was falling behind in counts and just didn’t look like himself. Aside from inconsistent command, the velocity on each of his pitches was below his season average. Alcantara issued 3 unintentional walks and also hit a batter (Ty France).

Sandy in the postgame press conference described his performance as disappointing and that he expects himself to do better. Donnie mentioned that Sandy still hasn’t pitched his best game, although the St. Louis game was impressive.

Through the first 4 innings, the Marlins had zero offense on their side. It took until the bottom of the fifth for Jon Berti to break up Gilbert’s possible no-hitter. Garrett Cooper singled right after, but Jorge Soler would go on to strikeout in the following at-bat. That was a theme of the game for the Marlins offense: enticing us with scoring opportunities only to come away without much to show for it.

In addition to Berti and Cooper, Brian Anderson was an offensive standout for Miami with his first home run of the 2022 season. It was an no-doubter.

Jorge Soler added the final run of the game with a 451 ft. bomb . He would end off the night with 2 RBI’s.

Seattle’s top prospect Julio Rodríguez had himself a game. With Alcantara on the verge of completing 6 innings, the Marlins intentionally walked Mariners second baseman Abraham Toro to face Rodríguez instead. He made them pay with a 3-run home run (the first of his MLB career).

Rodríguez finished 3-for-4 on the day.

J.P. Crawford also went deep against Alcantara.

In the postgame Don Mattingly was asked about the reasoning behind walking Toro in the 6th inning. Donnie’s response was that Toro had already gotten a hit off of Sandy and drove in a run. Analytically, Rodríguez was a better matchup for Sandy in that moment of the game.

For the ones possibly wondering about Zach Pop and the liner he took off his ankle, Donnie mentions that Pop is okay and they are calling it a bruise.

Don Mattingly’s Postgame Press Conference

Baseball Savant

On Monday, the Marlins are back at it facing off against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a three-game set. It’ll be Zac Gallen vs. Pablo López in what is expected to be a pitchers’ duel.