Has Jordan Yamamoto become the ace of the Marlins rotation?

The Marlins pitcher remains perfect, winning four of his six outings this season.

Is Jordan Yamamoto the ace of the Marlins pitching staff? His 4-0 record and his last outing against the San Diego Padres help make a great argument for that distinction. The rookie won again as the Marlins took down the Padres 12-7 at Marlins Park on Tuesday night.

Yamamoto showed he could work out of adversity, giving up three runs in the second inning, but settled down to pitch five innings to earn the victory. Miami took the first game of a three-game series.

“The rookie had to work through a 33-pitch second inning, during which he yielded three runs,” writes Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.“Once Yamamoto did, it was smooth sailing for the next three innings, while the Marlins broke through with a four-run second inning.”

The Marlins were also blessed by the solid hitting from Brian Anderson and Garrett Cooper – who hit home runs on the evening. Starlin Castro hit a triple and Harold Ramirez had a two-run double. The lineup continues its roller-coaster season of becoming extinct one game and erupting for big nights the next.

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The evening, however, belonged to Yamamoto, who has not faced a situation this season like the one Tuesday night. It was something he acknowledged when he spoke to the media following the game.

“It definitely was a little, I guess, eye-opening that I had to kick myself in the butt and say, ‘Let’s go,’” said Yamamoto, who improved to 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in six MLB starts.

The dynamic of the Marlins starting rotation changed once starters began falling like flies to injuries. Jose Urena is on the 60-day I.L. with a herniated disc. Pablo Lopez has a should strain which has kept him off the mound. He is now pitching in a throwing program before he returns to the team.

Caleb Smith was on the 10-day I.L. with hip inflammation but has returned after a stint in Jacksonville on a rehab assignment. Yamamoto has stepped up and delivered when the team needed him more, winning for the fourth time in six outings and showing he can handle being a front-line starter.

It was the first time Yamamoto took the mound since July 5 against the Braves where he did not get the win but gave up only two hits in the game. He was a bit “rusty” as manager Don Mattingly explained after the win.

“It was good to see him kind of bounce back in the fourth and fifth, and he started to look like himself again,” he added.

What is worth noting is the Marlins starting rotation has two starters who are over .500 for the season. While Yamamoto is 4-0, Smith is now 5-4 for the season. Before he went on the I.L., Lopez was 5-5. In other words, the rotation is still improving and records for this staff can be deceiving.

The Marlins have a team ERA of 4.31 for the season, which is 14th in the Majors.