MIA 4, CLE 7; Marlins drop series finale in Cleveland

CLEVELAND, Ohio — After winning both halves of Saturday’s traditional doubleheader, the Marlins were poised to sweep their first series of the season behind Jesús Luzardo. However, they will have to wait for another series to get that elusive sweep, as they dropped this one, 7-4.

The Game

Logan Allen lived up to the hype early on in his Major League debut, as he got into a early pitcher’s duel with Jesús Luzardo. The talented lefties allowed a combined three baserunners through the first two innings, but Allen would blink first after Jon Berti took him deep out to right-center. That was his second homer of the year, making it 1-0, Marlins.

Soon after, Luzardo would blink as well. In a big way for Cleveland. After retiring Myles Straw and Steven Kwan to start the third, it would turn into a nightmare. Amed Rosario hit a triple off the wall, which Jorge Soler nearly caught. The very next at-bat, Jose Ramirez sent one 424 feet to right center field. Just like that, the lead was gone. 2-1, Guardians.

In the next at-bat, Josh Bell gave the Guardians their first set of back-to-back home runs of the season. 3-1, Guardians.

Oscar Gonzalez and Josh Naylor both hit singles right after to give the Guardians two runners in scoring position, but Mike Zunino would strike out to get Luzardo out of the inning. That was five hits allowed in a row for Luzardo with two outs, a very uncharacteristic inning for him.

The struggles for Luzardo continued in the fifth inning, as he allowed a leadoff double to Amed Rosario. Rosario would steal third and then score off a Josh Bell double. What a game for Bell with 2 RBI. 4-1, Guardians.

That would be it for Luzardo in this one, as this is his first loss of the season. His final line in this one: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, BB, 6 K, 2 HR, and 96 pitches thrown.

George Soriano found himself in some trouble during the seventh. After allowing back-to-back singles to Kwan and Rosario, Ramirez was able to bring in Kwan on a sacrifice fly. 5-1, Guardians.

Will Brennan came in to pinch-hit for Oscar Gonzalez and would ground into a fielder’s choice that resulted in an errant throw from Nick Fortes. This brought Rosario home, making it 6-1.

The Marlins showed some fight, however. After Jorge Soler reached on a single and Bryan De La Cruz reached on a walk, Avisail Garcia was able to drive them both in on a 417-foot, 3-run home run. This made the score 6-4, with the Guardians still up.

Rosario was able to reach during the eighth inning, and Ramirez drove him in. When it rains, it pours. 7-4, Guardians.

Emmanuel Clase closed this one out and got back to his usual self, as the Guardians win this one, 7-4.

Tale of two games for Luzardo

Luzardo started this one out strong. He retired the first three batters he faced and only allowed two baserunners through the first two innings. However, the Guardians piled on seven hits after that. Five of those were extra-base hits, including two home runs. This was arguably his worst start in 2023. He will get the chance to bounce back at home this weekend against the Chicago Cubs.

Logan Allen’s incredible debut

Logan Allen, a West Palm Beach native, had it his way for his Major League debut. He went six innings, gave up just five hits, allowed only one earned run on a homer, and struck out eight. He got Garrett Cooper and Avisail Garcia to account for five of those strikeouts. The Marlins have done a better job this season of getting the bat to the ball, but there were many swings-and-misses today.

Game notes and stats

• Nick Fortes had a foul ball hit off his hand in the bottom of the sixth. He stayed in the game but was in visible pain. Keep an eye on this throughout the week.
• This is the first loss this season for the Marlins when they scored first. They’re now 8-1 on the season when they strike first.
• The Marlins are now 2-8 on the season when trailing after six innings. The bullpen has been excellent late in games this year, but didn’t have the run support to show for it today.
• Miami is now 4-8 during day games. Most of these have been getaway days, too. It could be a lack of preparation. It could be matchups. It could be a coincidence. But that will have to balance out at some point if they want to make the postseason.
• And for my favorite record split to be following currently: The Marlins when they allow 4 or fewer runs are 12-0. The Marlins when they allow 5 or more runs are 0-10. Very telling statistic.

What’s next?

The Marlins will begin the second leg of their road trip Monday night in Atlanta. It’ll be the first time the Marlins will see the Braves this year, and these games are all the more pivotal now with fewer games against divisional opponents under the new MLB schedule format. The first pitch will be at 7:20 p.m. EST and can be seen on Bally Sports Florida. It’ll be a battle of righties, with Edward Cabrera facing the Braves’ Spencer Strider.