The Miami Marlins were swept for the second time so far during the 2021 season on Sunday afternoon as they dropped the series finale to the Nationals 3-1. With the loss, the Marlins record now stands at 11-16.
After a disappointing first two games of the series, the Miami Marlins took the field on Sunday with rookie SP Trevor Rogers on the mound. Rogers entered the day with a 3-1 record and a 1.29 ERA, one of the lowest among starting pitchers in the NL. Rogers was opposed by Nationals SP Max Scherzer, one of the best pitchers in baseball.
As expected, it was a nice pitching duel between Rogers and Scherzer to start as each fired two scoreless innings. However, Rogers ran into some trouble in the Bottom of the 3rd, which proved to be very costly.
The Long Ball gives Washington the lead.
Rogers ran into some trouble in the 3rd due to a single from Josh Harrison, combined with two walks to allow Nationals 1B Ryan Zimmerman to blast a 3-run HR to center to give Washington a 3-0 lead.
Scherzer then settled in for the Nationals to pitch the next five innings of 4-hit, no run ball, until Marlins 2B Isan Diaz blasted a solo-HR to center to put the Fish on the board. Scherzer was dominant throughout aside from the one mistake, allowing the Nationals to claim the 3-1 win to sweep the series.
While the Marlins bats were fairly asleep once again, there were a few positives from this game. A few of the Marlins younger players all collected their first hits on the season, while Rogers wasn’t necessarily terrible going five innings and striking out six. Yes, the 3-run HR hurt and was eventually to deciding factor in the game, but Rogers was good for the most part.
The Miami Marlins have a scheduled off-day on Monday, but return home to Marlins Park on Tuesday to begin a 3-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:40 pm ET with Marlins probable starter Sandy Alcantara set to face a Diamondbacks starter that is TBD.