MIA 3, ARI 9; Luzardo Struggles Early, Drop Another to D-Backs

Marlins starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo allowed two runs before recording an out on Tuesday night, and it only got worse from there.

Luzardo has struggled with consistency this season. While there are games where he looks like he took a massive leap from his 2021 campaign, Tuesday’s outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks looked shaky at best.

After the offense spotted him two runs in the top of the first, Luzardo gave up a two-run home run to Jordan Luplow. He retired seven straight batters at one point but was still ineffective overall. He wasn’t commanding his renowned slurve well enough to get into favorable counts and put opponents away. Rather, he relied on his changeup more so than he had in any other big league start.

After allowing two walks in the third inning, Luzardo was pulled in favor of Louis Head. Head allowed the two inherited runners to score and then two of his own runs on a double and wild pitch in what was easily the worst performance of his brief Marlins career. It took 102 pitches for the Fish to get through three innings.

As the Marlins reach the end of a stretch of 16 consecutive games, their bullpen was in desperate need of a break. Cody Poteet did his best to bridge the gap through the middle of the game. He pitched four scoreless innings, allowing most of Miami’s relievers to rest.

Marlins reliever Dylan Floro made his first appearance of the season after missing the first month-and-a-half with arm soreness. While many fans have clamored for him to be the closer upon his return, Marlins manager Don Mattingly opted to get him some work in a low-leverage situation—the eighth inning with Miami already down 6-2. Floro allowed three runs on four hits.

Erik González made his Marlins debut as the starting third baseman. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts.

The Marlins drew only one walk, which has been an unfortunate theme of their road trip. The team has a .254 on-base percentage over the last two series against the Padres and D-Backs. They rank 27th in the majors in OBP during that span.

Baseball Savant

The Marlins rotation will flip back to their ace Sandy Alcantara for their getaway game on Wednesday. Needing a win to prevent Arizona from sweeping the season series, Alcantara will face Merrill Kelly at 3:40 p.m.