Miami Marlins Shut Out Again, Lose To Cincinnati Reds 4-0

May 14, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey (left) greets catcher Ryan Hanigan (right) after defeating the Miami Marlins 6-2 at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins offense, as usual, brought a knife to a gunfight last night as the Cincinnati Reds shut them out for a league-leading seventh time this season.  The Marlins managed to bang out 11 hits which established a club record for a game in which they have failed to score.  The problem is that 10 of those hits were singles and only one came with a runner in scoring position.  By contrast, the Reds also had 11 hits, but 5 of them went for extra bases including 2 home runs from CF Shin-Soo Choo.

The Marlins are last in the league in slugging percentage, trailing the second to last Los Angeles Dodgers by a wide margin, and it showed in the results last night.  The lone extra base hit was a double from the bat of rookie Derek Dietrich who has been the club’s hottest hitter since being called up last week.  Dietrich’s double came with nobody on base and 2 outs in the fifth inning and the Reds quickly induced a fly out by Marcell Ozuna to end the inning and the threat.  The Marlins got 2 hits each from Dietrich, Greg Dobbs and Rob Brantly, but none of them was at the opportune time to plate a run.  Dietrich would eventually strike out looking to end the game with 2 men on in the bottom of the ninth on a nasty slider from Reds’ closer Aroldis Chapman.

Alex Sanabia would make it through six innings for the fifth time in his 8 starts this year, but would give up all four Reds runs along the way.  Sanabia was tagged for 9 hits including the 2 home runs by Choo and also walked 3 Reds hitters.  He now has 23 walks to 25 strike outs on the season in 45 innings pitched to go along with 56 hits allowed.  Sanabia’s inability to strike batters out means he would need to severely limit his walks to have any chance at success and he is obviously not doing that.  As Ehsan Kassim pointed out yesterday here at Marlin Maniac, Sanabia’s time in the rotation may be coming to an end soon.

Mike Leake (3-2) went 6 and 2/3 innings for the Reds and was credited with the win while, obviously, Sanabia (2-6) took the loss for the Marlins.  Sanabia is now tied for the league lead in losses.

Up Next: In what should be the best matchup of the series, Jose Fernandez (2-2) takes the mound for the Marlins facing South Florida native Mat Latos (4-0) for the Reds.