The OOTP21 COVID-19 Simulation 2: Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins enter the second week of their 2020 season at 4-3, the surprise front-runner in the National League Eastern Division.

Most of the baseball illuminati understand that the Miami Marlins simply can’t keep this up. It’s all too soon, and they’re probably right. Nonetheless, the good feelings can’t stop Marlins Twitterverse from losing their collective minds.

April 2nd

No game today, but in transactional news, the Miami Marlins call up recently acquired free agent center fielder Jake Smolinski to the parent club. In his place they send down second baseman Isan Diaz, who is just two-for-13 with seven strikeouts through his first five appearances of the season.

April 3rd

Braves 8, Marlins 0

If someone was going to shut out the Miami Marlins early in the season, you know it was going to be the Atlanta Braves. It’s always the Atlanta Braves.

Mike Foltynewicz held the Marlins scoreless on six hits and a walk over seven innings, despite striking out only three batters. Corey Dickerson was the only Marlins hitter to collect multiple hits, with a pair of singles. Nobody had a multibase hit, and new Marlin Smolinski drew a walk and stole a base in his first look.

Former Braves pitcher Julio Teheran struck out six in just 4 1/3 innings, but also surrendered six earned runs on nine hits and two walks for his second loss in as many starts. Dylan Lee later pitched in with two perfect relief innings.

April 4th

Braves 10, Marlins 3

Sandy Alcantara, Tommy Eveld, and Yimi Garcia gave up three earned runs apiece in Miami’s seven-run loss to the Braves. Alcantara whiffed two and gave up six hits and four walks in four innings.

Peter Bourjos was two-for-three with a home run, Corey Dickerson was two-for-three with a double to drive his early-season average to .371, and both Jon Berti and Jonathan Villar stole a base.

April 5th

Marlins 4, Braves 2

The Miami Marlins salvaged one-in-three while getting back to the .500 mark against the Braves in the series-finale. Eight Marlins collected hits, but none more than one. Peter Bourjos hit a double, Jonathan Villar hit a triple, and Miguel Rojas stole a base. Villar, Corey Dickerson, Jesus Aguilar, and Bourjos had an RBI each.

Pablo Lopez earned his third win in three starts, striking out four, walking one, and allowing two earned runs in seven innings. Drew Steckenrider struck out two in a perfect ninth for his third save of the season.

April 6th

Nationals 7, Marlins 1

Max Scherzer held the Marlins to one run on four hits over 8 1/3 innings, striking out 10 and walking nobody for his second win of the season. Caleb Smith allowed four earned runs in five innings, on a walk and six hits, including two home runs.

Jonathan Villar had two of Miami’s four hits in the game and Brian Anderson had the only RBI on a sacrifice fly. Corey Dickerson, Jorge Alfaro, and Peter Bourjos struck out three times each, going 0-for-10 collectively.

April 7th

Marlins 8, Nationals 5

Jesus Aguilar collected four RBI, including a three-run homer, and Corey Dickerson drove in three, including a solo-shot. Jonathan Villar was three-for-five, and Miguel Rojas also had a pair of hits.

Jose Urena‘s first start of the season resulted in no decision, with four earned runs scored against him in as many innings. Brandon Kintzler earned the win in relief, and Drew Steckenrider struck out two more in another perfect ninth for his fourth save.

Post-Game Transactions

The Miami Marlins organization parted ways with minor league relief pitchers Brian McKenna, Vincenzo Aiello, Josh Roeder, Parker Bugg, and Johan Quezada. In what seems like a correlated move of some sort, they signed five other minor league relief pitchers, Lukas Young, Brenden Kudlinski, Eudi Asencio, Yeison Santana, and Jose Pacheco.

April 8th

Nationals 5, Marlins 4

Another series loss drops the Marlins to 6-7 for the season. The Marlins collected a total of 12 base hits, led by a four-hit game from Jonathan Villar, but it still wasn’t enough. Villar is now hitting .396 for the season. Corey Dickerson and Miguel Rojas also had multiple hits in the game.

Julio Teheran earned no decision in his third start, surrendering four runs in five innings on seven hits and a pair of walks. Teheran does not seem to be the same pitcher that has owned the Marlins over the past six seasons, fighting to an early-season ERA of 8.22.

Post-Game Transaction

Dylan Lee was sent down to the Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and Trevor Rogers was recalled to the Marlins in his place.

What’s Ahead?

The Marlins, now in fourth place with a record of 6-7, remain a full game ahead of the New York Mets. Next week (tomorrow), they’ll host the Braves for four games in Miami then host the Los Angeles Angels for two games.