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ARI 5, MIA 4; Miami Almost Completes Comeback (Again)

Yet again, poor starting pitching and a futile lineup dug them too deep of a hole.

Miami Marlins second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. holds his helmet in disbelief after a foul ball call Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Déjà vu. Tuesday was almost an exact carbon copy of Monday’s 5-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks—right down to the final score and late-inning efforts by Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Of course, it didn’t all come without some controversy.

Down 5-0 with bases loaded in the seventh inning, Chisholm, Jr. hit a hard groundball up the first base line that went all the way to the outfield wall and looked. It seemed that Chisholm, Jr. was on his way to a three-RBI triple. But first base umpire Ryan Willis immediately called it a foul ball. After a meeting between the umpire crew, the call was reversed, but the umpires said Chisholm, Jr. would only be credited with a two-run double instead of a triple, and trail runner Jacob Stallings would stay at third.

Jesús Aguilar would tack on to the comeback effort with a two-run single later in the inning, but that was all the lineup could muster.

Although the entire lineup was quiet aside from a few at-bats in the seventh, free agent acquisition Avisail Garcia stood out as particularly inept, going 0-for-4. J.P. Arencibia noted on Tuesday’s radio broadcast that he would start to get concerned over individual performances once a hitter reaches 100 at-bats. After 79 at-bats, Garcia has a .460 OPS. Only 7 players who qualify have a lower OPS in all of baseball.

Qualified MLB batters sorted by lowest OPS this season
Qualified MLB batters sorted by lowest OPS this season
FanGraphs

It was a rare night in which the starting pitching did not help the cause much, either. Trevor Rogers gave up five earned runs in 4 ⅓ innings pitched.

Rogers’ performance was part of a string of subpar performances by the top three pitchers in the Marlins’ rotation. Sandy Alcantara and Pablo López combined for a 12.93 ERA (10.1 IP) in their respective last starts. Two of the runs Rogers gave up Tuesday were solo home runs. That was the first time since 2020 that he allowed multiple home runs in one game.

The bullpen was a big part of what kept them in the game for as long as they did. Cody Poteet allowed two of his inherited runners to score after relieving Rogers. After that, he tossed 2 ⅔ shutout innings. Poteet, Steven Okert, and Anthony Bass combined to allow zero runs in 4 ⅔ frames.

Don Mattingly’s Postgame Press Conference

Win Probability Chart - D-backs @ Marlins Baseball Savant

The Marlins will look to salvage a win in what should have been an easy series against the D-Backs at 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday. Elieser Hernandez will take the mound for Miami against Madison Bumgarner.