MIA 3, CIN 1: Great Day to be a Garrett

Strong outing from Braxton Garrett and late hits by Garrett Cooper make difference for Fish in salvaging series finale.

Less than 24 hours removed from their first one-run loss of the season, the Marlins entered this Mother’s Day Sunday facing a potential sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. Fortunately for the residents of South Beach, Braxton Garrett would have none of that.

Coming off two outings where he had allowed a total of 15 earned runs, the soft-tossing left-hander made the most of his 82-pitch outing. Recording the first 6 outs all via the strikeout, Garrett shut down Cincinnati over the first 5 innings.

After allowing a leadoff walk to Jonathan India and a first-pitch single to Nick Senzel in what was the Reds’ third time seeing Garrett, manager Skip Schumaker had seen enough.

“I thought we had a pretty fresh bullpen, and with the off day tomorrow, third time through, it felt like…we had some guys back there who were ready to go with (Tanner) Scott and (Bryan) Hoeing,” noted Schumaker.

Entering play Sunday, Garrett’s 1.091 opponent OPS ranked 11th worst among pitchers to face at least 25 hitters a third time through.

Bryan Hoeing would come in to limit the damage, allowing India to score on a check-swing groundout from Tyler Stephenson before inducing an inning-ending double play to left fielder Henry Ramos.

Overall, Garrett would be charged with 1 run in his 5-plus innings of work, allowing just 3 hits, 1 walk, and registering a season-high 8 strikeouts in a 3-1 Miami victory. With the win, the Marlins now sit a game under .500 at 20-21.

Schumaker noted the importance of Garrett’s development of the cut fastball. Of his 14 swings and misses, 3 came on the pitch, and 22 of his 82 offerings were cutters.

“He’s a pitcher maker. That happened quick,” remarked Schumaker.

Cincinnati’s Luke Weaver held his own, matching Garrett with 5.1 innings of 1-run ball, and striking out 6.

As did the Reds in the top half of the 6th, Miami broke through in the bottom half, tying the score at 1 thanks to a Jean Segura RBI single to score Garrett Cooper, who was newly reinstated from the injured list before Sunday’s contest.

The Marlins would break the tie following a 7th inning that saw them bring 8 men to the plate. The aforementioned Cooper capped off a two-hit day in his return with an RBI double to score Garrett Hampson.

Miami would plate the eventual insurance run on a Bryan De La Cruz double, his second of the game, and third hit of the day. After slumping to conclude the month of April, De La Cruz has looked good in the season’s second month, hitting .341 (14-for-41) through 12 May contests.

Of Note

• Before the game Sunday, the club announced that it had placed OF Jesús Sánchez on the 10-Day IL with a right hamstring strain. Prior to the injury, one he sustained coming up after making a diving catch in Saturday’s 6-5 loss, Sánchez was hitting .390 in 13 games leading up to the injury.
• RP A.J. Puk will be joining Sánchez on the IL—this stint for a minimum of 15 days—as manager Skip Schumaker announced he was dealing with “dead arm.” The club later specified that Puk’s diagnosis is left elbow nerve irritation.
• CF Jazz Chisholm is dealing with a case of turf toe on his right foot. Schumaker noted that Chisholm is set to see a specialist Monday before the club decides whether or not he’ll join them on the IL.

Skip Schumaker’s Postgame Press Conference

Baseball-Savant

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Looking Ahead

With an off day scheduled for Monday, Miami will await the arrival of their division rivals, the Washington Nationals. The Fish will hand the ball to left-hander Jesús Luzardo (3-2, 3.38 ERA) in Tuesday’s series opener. First pitch is slated for 6:40 EST.