Marlins Mental Errors Aid Cubs in Securing Series Win

For the Miami Marlins to see where they stand in the NL playoff picture heading into the home stretch, playing the elite teams in the league is a good measuring stick.

So far at Wrigley Field this week, the Marlins are not “stepping up to the plate.”

This feels like more than a play on words due to the fact that until last night’s 7^th inning, not stepping up to the plate would have resulted in the same amount of runs in the series. Zero runs in 15 innings.

The offense eventually drove home a run with a Hechavarria RBI single, somewhat of a rare occurrence. Ultimately, however, the Fish fell for the second straight game in the series.

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After a loss on Monday night, the Marlins fell to the Cubs once more 3-2 on a night full of the Cubs taking advantage of Marlin mistakes.

Mental errors were a common theme in the bout that vaulted Jose Fernandez vs Jason Hammel.

Jose, coming off only his 2^nd loss at home of his career, didn’t have his best stuff Tuesday night but managed to limit Chicago to 3 ER in 6 innings.

Dexter Fowler seemed to be at the heart of all three Chicago runs as he scored 2 runs and drove one in. After scoring in the first inning on a Willson Contreras RBI single, Fowler added to the lead scoring on a flyball that was grossly misplayed by Miami.

The usually reliable Christian Yelich threw a weak, off-target ball to first base that should have doubled up the runner, but instead resulted in a run due to Fowler’s head’s up baserunning.

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The mental error theme did not stop there as Dee Gordon was picked off in the 8^th inning after coming in as a pinch runner for Marcell Ozuna. This case seems to point to the fact that Dee is somewhat rusty after missing 80 games. The pickoff was not only huge in eliminating a baserunner, but also Marcell Ozuna, who could no longer return after the swap. This led to Derek Dietrich having to move to left field for the remainder of the game, somewhere he is not particularly comfortable.

With the Marlins trailing by one going into the 9^th inning, many Marlins fans came to the realization that no usual closer was waiting for them. After a trade last week before the deadline, the Cubs added the hardest throwing man in the league, Aroldis Champan, to their arsenal.

With some help from his third basemen Javier Baez, Chapman worked a 1-2-3 inning that finished off the Fish.

Don Mattingly can’t be happy with the effort shown in Wrigley. Neither should you, Marlins fans.

But it’s a long season. The hunt for an NL wildcard spot (and maybe an NL East title) continues.