3 takeaways from yesterday’s Miami Marlins doubleheader

The Miami Marlins beat the Colorado Rockies 14-1 in the first game of the doubleheader and then lost 13-12 in the second game. It was a memorable doubleheader as overall both teams scored 40 runs!

The Fish ultimately outscored Colorado 26-14 and it’s becoming clear that the lineup isn’t really as big of a concern for The Fish as originally thought. There are multiple takeaways from the games actually, so it makes sense to go over all of them and see what we learned about our team going forward.

There are 3 takeaways from yesterday’s Miami Marlins doubleheader.

3. The Miami Marlins aren’t that bad offensively after all

A popular topic throughout the season was that The Fish didn’t have enough hitting, yet we are scoring an above average 4.38 runs per game. Were worries about our offense overblown? I still think that we could use more help, it was Coors Field after all, but perhaps offense isn’t really the issue as much as previously thought. Then again, maybe a trade for a middle of the order bat like Xander Bogaerts could work (if he can then be extended of course).

The important thing here is that the Miami Marlins have a better offense than previously thought. Jorge Soler for example is clearly the middle of the order bat that he was signed to be. Soler already has 11 home runs in only 173 AB’s, which means that a 40 home run season really isn’t unrealistic for him at all. Jesús Sánchez is showing signs of waking up with the bat as well. He’s been batting .316 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI over the last week.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is another big bat that broke out this season. Chisholm is in my opinion the best lead-off hitter in the game, so combined with Soler and with solid contributions from the likes of DH Garrett Cooper and 1B Jesus Aguilar, the lineup gets things done. I still think that we need that middle of the order bat, but it’s as good a foundation as any.

3. The bullpen has become the “Achilles’ Heel” for the Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins are losing way too many one-run games. 6-15 is a terrible record in those games and comes off amazingly unlucky. I don’t think that it’s a mystery to figure out why it’s been happening. The blame has to fall on the bullpen, as it has been surprisingly underperforming this season.

The bullpen keeps costing the Miami Marlins games.

The Miami Marlins bullpen has a 3.85 ERA/3.65 FIP. This isn’t terrible and doesn’t really underscore the team’s issues, but it’s clear that it isn’t exactly an elite unit. One obvious problem is the closing situation. Who is the closer? Is it Anthony Bender and his 4.50 ERA/5.36 FIP? Is it Cole Sulser and his 5.00 ERA/3.87 FIP? Is it Dylan Floro and his 5.40 ERA/5.54 FIP? It’s clear that these guys aren’t pitching like an elite unit.

Did you ever wonder what record the Miami Marlins would have if the bullpen pitched better?  I’ll tell you.. The Fish have 5 blown saves, so if all those leads weren’t blown, we’d have a 25-23 record (20-28 is our record). This isn’t far off from our 26-22 Pythagorean W-L record. The lack of saves cost us a winning record and it’s incredibly frustrating to realize that.

The Miami Marlins need better results from our bullpen. I do believe that the struggling pitchers are capable of doing better, so waiting seems to be the only logical solution at this point. It just doesn’t seem very practical to acquire anyone by trade at the moment and I don’t see any starters that make sense to convert into relievers. Had there not been a blown save, we would’ve won both games.