The Marlins opened Sunday learning they’d be without one starting pitcher for roughly two weeks at least.
And then they watched another struggle once again, putting them on course to a 7-3 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot Park.
The Marlins (15-19) put starter Jesus Luzardo on the 15-day injured list due to a left forearm strain, which could keep him out until at least the end of the month.
And Elieser Hernandez once again couldn’t sustain early effectiveness past the fourth inning as the Brewers scored four runs in the top of the fifth — compounded by a throwing error by shortstop Miguel Rojas — to take the lead for good and two of three in the weekend series.
Hernandez was only charged with two earned runs thanks to a pair of errors the Marlins committed, but things unraveled quickly that inning when Jace Peterson and Kolten Wong hit back-to-back solo home runs off Hernandez to tie the game at 3.
“(My start) could have been better. I made a couple of mistakes and paid the price,” Hernandez said. “I just have to stay positive and not let those thoughts win the battle. I think I’m going to do well at some point so it’s just a matter of continuing to work hard.”
Mike Brosseau reached on Rojas’ errant throw to first and following a walk to Christian Yelich, Hernandez’s outing was over. Rowdy Tellez and Omar Narvaez plated the go-ahead runs with run-scoring singles off reliever Louis Head. Tellez would later pad Milwaukee’s lead with a solo homer off Tommy Nance in the seventh.
Hernandez (2-3, 6.15 ERA), walked three, struck out two and gave up three hits on 85 pitches. He got off to a good start after allowing an unearned run in the first following a walk and a Brian Anderson fielding error on a routine ground ball. Hernandez did not allow a hit until Narvaez doubled in the fourth inning.
“I feel like I’ve improved a lot. Working the corners, working on depth and I think they see it and I feel it,” Hernandez said. “It’s just a matter of one or two pitches each start where I make a mistake and pay the price.”
Luzardo’s injury and Hernandez’s ongoing inconsistency leave two question marks for the immediate future at the back end of a rotation that entered Sunday’s game ranked ninth in the majors in starter ERA (3.46).
Marlins manager Don Mattingly said postgame Sunday that Sandy Alcantara will start Monday in Luzardo’s spot when the Marlins open a three-game series against the Nationals. Alcantara was originally lined up to pitch Tuesday but will be on regular rest since the Marlins had an off day Thursday following his last start Wednesday in Arizona.
Mattingly said the Marlins will use a spot starter on Tuesday.
Options on the 40-man roster are limited for the moment.
Cody Poteet, who was listed on the Marlins’ pregame notes as the scheduled starter for Monday, is available on the active roster. He had been used as a long reliever out of the bullpen this season but could end up retaining a spot for the moment in the rotation should he pitch well if either Luzardo’s injury is prolonged or the Marlins decide to make a switch in Hernandez’s spot.
For now, Mattingly says the club feels Hernandez is making progress despite the inconsistent results. The two earned runs were actually the fewest Hernandez allowed in a start since April 17 in his second outing of this season.
“He hasn’t been great but we feel like he’s been getting better,” Mattingly said. “We know what he’s capable of so we just keep working with him. There was a similar time with Trevor (Rogers) where all the red lights were going off and we just continued to work and he continued to get better and now nobody’s talking about it anymore. We feel that if Elieser continues this then all that noise stops too.”
Among starting pitchers on the Marlins’ 40-man roster that are in the minors:
▪ Braxton Garrett and Jordan Holloway are on the minor-league IL.
▪ Edward Cabrera hasn’t thrown more than five innings in his three Triple-A starts so far since returning from his right biceps muscle fatigue and last pitched on Saturday.
▪ Daniel Castano last pitched Wednesday.
▪ Sixto Sanchez has progressed from his shoulder injury to throwing from 75 feet.
The team’s No. 3-ranked prospect, Max Meyer, who has yet to make his major league debut and is not on the 40-man roster, last pitched on Thursday and would be in line to pitch on regular rest on Tuesday.
The Marlins scored all of their runs on a clutch two-out, two-run single in the second by reserve catcher Payton Henry and Jorge Soler’s seventh homer of the season in the third.
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