LAD 3, MIA 2; LOBsterfest

Coming off a lackluster 8-1 loss on Sunday, the Marlins looked to salvage a series split with the Dodgers in their final head-to-head matchup of the season. The door seemed to be padlocked by the Dodgers' planned starting pitcher, Cy Young candidate Tony Gonsolin. But then news broke during the afternoon that Gonsolin was heading to the IL with a forearm strain, and Michael Grove would be called up from AAA to fill in. With Pablo López on the mound for the Marlins, there was reason to be hopeful that they could steal a game from the inexperienced spot starter, but this team has struggled with that this season. Would they do it this time?

They almost did.

Pablo pitched well against a stacked Dodgers lineup, allowing only two runs over six solid innings. He worked himself into and out of trouble on multiple occasions, but other than Will Smith’s two-run home run, he kept them from scoring.

Pablo López’s final line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 99/62 P/S.

The Marlins offense, scored two runs of their own early on, with leadoff batter Joey Wendle doubling and scoring on some small ball in the first. The other run came in the fourth inning off the back of a Garrett Cooper triple—the fifth of his career—and a Lewin Díaz RBI single.

That would be all the run-scoring from the offense. A questionable decision to pinch-run Luke Williams for Díaz in the 6th inning would overshadow the lack of clutch hitting throughout the remainder of the game. The Marlins left the bases loaded in the fifth and the tenth innings, giving this game the title of LOBsterfest. The Marlins and Dodgers combined to leave TWENTY(!) runners on base.

The Dodgers were able to push their placed runner home in the tenth, the Marlins weren’t, and the game ended. They wasted a quality start against a great team. Final score: 3-2.

Up Next: The Tampa Bay Rays for two!

In the meantime, go listen to the latest What a Relief episode with Jake Fishman!