Jose Fernandez Roughed Up During An 11-1 Lose To The Reds

Apr 18, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez throws against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

Yes, it is hard to really write a game recap for this game. The now 3-13 Marlins welcomed the Cincinnati Reds to town and were hoping to bounce back from yet another series loss to the Washington Nationals. The Miami Marlins, who have yet to claim victory in a series this season, were hoping to start off on the right foot Thursday night. Rookie sensation Jose Fernandez was set to take the mound to take on Tony Cingrani. Fernandez has been nothing but spectacular to start off his promising career, however; last night he learned that not ever outing in the big leagues will come easy.

In Fernandez’s first two starts he only allowed one earned run. Last night he allowed five of them in the first four innings. Heading into the fifth Mike Redmond decided it was time to pull the young pitcher in favor of John Maine. Unfortunately Maine wasn’t much better and the Reds blew the game open. In two innings of work, Maine allowed four hits, six runs, and five walks on 57 pitches. Certainly, this wasn’t the kind of outing the Marlins had expected when they arrived at the stadium.

Apr 18, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) loses the ball hit by Cincinnati Reds Chris Heisey (not pictured) during the fifth inning at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won 11-1. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

With the pitching clearly struggling it was up to the Marlins offense to get going. Fortunately for them they had Giancarlo (Mike) Stanton back in the line. In his return to the line-up, Stanton went 1-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Stanton also had his fair share of troubles on the defensive side too, committing two errors. The lone run for the Marlins came off of a home run in the 4^th inning by outfielder Justin Ruggiano. Next to Placido Polanco, Ruggiano has easily been one of the most effective and consistent hitter on the Marlins. Sadly that isn’t exactly a compliment, since Polanco is the only player on the team who is currently hitting over .300.

Unlike the fish, Cincinnati was “red hot” all night. The Reds pitching staff was near perfect last night after allowing a mere six hits and one run. Along with a terrific performance from the pitching staff, the Reds also got hot on offense. The Reds scored a total of eleven runs off of a twelve hit performance.  Todd Frazier, third basemen for the Reds continued his impressive season, going two for three with three runs, two RBI’s and a walk. To the surprise off a lot of people the Reds have had their own problems, however; facing the Marlins might be just what they needed.

Hopefully the Marlins can erase last night’s disaster and get a much needed victory tonight. This season is certainly hard on all of us fans, players, and coaches. A win tonight would be a nice way to start off the weekend. The game will feature a pitching duel between Kevin Slowey and Mat Latos and the first pitch will be thrown at the regular 7:10 EST.

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