MIA 0, TB 4; Pablo gets hit hard, offense didn't make the trip

St. Petersburg, FL—The Marlins were overmatched. There really isn’t much else to say. There is a reason the Rays are a perennial playoff team and the Marlins aren’t. Tuesday’s game, though, was a little different.

Pablo López’s night got off to a shaky start when his first pitch of the game resulted in an inside-the-park home run for Kevin Kiermaier. Yeah, an inside-the-parker on the first pitch. It was that kind of night.

Marlins legend “Hitting” Harold Ramirez muscled a pitch that wasn't anywhere near the strike zone over the wall in the right field corner to make it 2-0 in the second.

Pablo settled in after surviving the jam in the second, and cruised into the 6th inning. And that’s when Randy Arozarena and Ji-Man Choi decided that it was their turn to kill the ball. A leadoff double for Randy and a laser-beam home run for Ji-Man Choi blew the doors wide open. But Pablo stayed with it, working around a jam in the seventh inning to give the Marlins at least half a chance at stealing this game. He allowed nine total hits (previous season-high was six).

Final Line: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 8 SO, 3 HR, 86/62 P/S.

Would the offense show up in Pablo’s defense? *glances at the final score* Yeah...nope.

The Marlins came close to stealing a run when a pitch got away from catcher Mike Zunino. However, it didn't stray far enough and Garrett Cooper was gunned down at the plate. Starting in the leadoff spot for the first time in his career didn’t magically bestow Coop with any extra agility, apparently.

Five collective hits from the Marlins was not enough—it’s almost never enough.

Before everyone grabs their pitchforks and torches, please remember that this was a lineup without Jazz, Wendle, Berti, or Miggy Ro. If you win without those guys it will be nothing short of a miracle.

Noah’s Notes

• Eh...
• Anthony Bass is your closer, Marlins fans. (No, that’s not confirmed, I just wanted to say it.)
• Speaking of Tony Bass, I think that was the first time we’ve seen him break out the red glove in a game! (Upon further review, this is the second time, but I find it cool, so it’s staying in this.)
• Pablo López no longer leads the National League in ERA. His 2.04 mark is now third behind Joe Musgrove of the Padres (1.90) and Miles Mikolas of the Cardinals (1.96).
• Brian Anderson wouldn't let the game end with his at-bat in the ninth, making Ryan Thompson throw ten pitches to get him out. Ultimately, his career-long 25-game on-base streak was snapped.

Don Mattingly’s Postgame Press Conference

Baseball Savant

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Same time, same place, same lovable on-site reporter, different pitcher! Cody Poteet faces off against Drew Rasmussen to try and split the Citrus Series. First pitch at 6:40 p.m.