Trevor Rogers left in the second inning of the Miami Marlins’ 5-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday at Nationals Park with left lat discomfort.
Rogers had faced just seven batters on Saturday before he left the mound. He gave up two runs on a Lane Thomas leadoff home run and a Riley Adams RBI double in the second that scored Luis Garcia before being pulled.
Rogers missed a little more than a month with an injured list stint due to back spasms. Since his return, he had compiled a 2.95 ERA over three starts (six earned runs allowed over 18 1/3 innings) with 22 strikeouts against three walks. He pitched at least six innings in all three of those starts after pitching that deep just once in his first 19 starts, a stretch in which he had a 5.85 ERA and was underwhelming following a runner-up finish for the National League Rookie of the Year in 2021.
Right-handed pitcher Jeff Brigham relieved Rogers and pitched three innings, striking out five while allowing two runs on two hits and a walk. Cole Sulser (one earned run in 1/3 of an inning) and Jake Fishman (3 2/3 scoreless innings with five strikeouts) pitched the rest of the game.
The Marlins (59-87) scored their runs on a Brian Anderson single in the third that scored Lewin Diaz and a Jerar Encarnacion two-run home run in the fourth that tied the game at 3-3 before Victor Robles hit a home run against Brigham in the fourth and Alex Call hit a home run off Sulser in the fifth to give the Nationals (51-94) the lead for good.
Miami will attempt to avoid the sweep on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1:35 p.m. Sandy Alcantara (12-8, 2.43 ERA) will be on the mound for the Marlins opposite Anibal Sanchez (2-5, 4.09).
