Miami Marlins Shutout Again, Swept by Atlanta Braves 8-0

Miami Marlins starter Alex Sanabia tossed four scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night.  Unfortunately, he also came out to pitch in the fifth inning of the contest and things did not go as well.

Apr 10, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Alex Sanabia (28) reacts in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

With the score knotted at 0-0 going into the fifth, Sanabia would give up four hits and two walks in the inning and they would all come around to score.  The inning included a three homer by Braves feel good story Evan Gattis and a colossal two run blast by third baseman Juan Francisco.   The home run by Francisco traveled 459 feet to center field and hit off the facing of the second deck.  It is the second longest home run hit at Marlins Park, just 3 feet behind the scoreboard buster hit by Giancarlo Stanton last season.

The Braves would go on to score two more runs later in the game to take the victory by an 8-0 score.  Sanabia would finish his night with five innings pitched having allowed six earned runs on eight hits and three bases on balls.  In case anyone was wondering Jacob Turner is currently sporting an 11.25 ERA in New Orleans, so I would assume Sanabia stays in the rotation for the foreseeable future.

The Marlins offense continued to be putrid as they were shutout for the fourth time this season in just nine games played.  Placido Polanco managed two hits in the game, including a double, to lead the Fish who totaled seven hits as a team.  Giancarlo Stanton continued his struggles going 1 for 4 with a strikeout and two harmless pop ups.  He is hitting just .167 on the season.

A couple of notable things did occur for the Marlins during the game however.  Kyle Skipworth finally made his major league debut after being with the team for almost a week.  Skipworth entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh and promptly grounded into a 1-6-3 double play on the first pitch he saw.  I guess that is just the way things are going for the Marlins so far this season.  Also, Chris Valaika started and played the entire game at first base.  Valaika said had never played first base at any level – professional, college, high school or even little league – before last night’s game.  As would be expected, Valaika was challenged right away and promptly mishandled a groundball from the second batter of the game for an error.

Up Next: The Marlins have an off day on Thursday before welcoming the Philadelphia Pillies to Marlins Park on Friday night.  The starters for Friday’s games are expected to be Ricky Nolasco for the Fish going up against John Lannan for the Phils.