Miami, FL – The Miami Marlins looked to even their home series against the Atlanta Braves Saturday night. It was Cuban Heritage Night at loanDepot Park and the Marlins were rocking their Miami Sugar Kings uniforms. Going into Saturday’s game, the Marlins were fourth in the NL East but only half a game out of second place.
Unfortunately for Miami, it was another one-run loss dropping the game 4-3. The Marlins’ offense continued to slump against Kyle Wright and their ninth-inning rally was cut short. Their chances for a win looked good, however, based on how Elieser Hernandez started the game for the Fish.
20 Minutes away from first pitch between the @Braves and the @Marlins on Cuban Heritage Night! Miami looks to tie up the series after losing game one yesterday. Elieser Hernandez will be on the mound for the Fish and Kyle Wright for Atlanta. #MakeItMiami @LemonCityLive pic.twitter.com/U3p90J98wG
— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) May 21, 2022
Hernandez’s Best of 2022
It has been a tough start to the 2022 season for Elieser Hernandez. Going into his start on Saturday night, Hernandez had a 2-3 record with an alarming 6.15 ERA. Things did not get any easier for Hernandez when he was tasked with pitching against the 2021 World Series champions in game two of the series.
Hernandez looked sharp right out of the gate pitching efficiently and attacking the strike zone. In the first inning, Hernandez was aggressive with his fastball working inside on hitters and it only took 12 pitches to complete the inning. Miami’s starter cruised through the first three innings of the game and retired the first seven batters of the game.
Perfect first inning for the #Marlins' Elieser Hernandez, who got Ronald Acuna Jr. to pop out and struck out Matt Olson and Marcell Ozuna.
12 pitches, 9 strikes (5 whiffs — two on the slider, 3 on the four-seam fastball)
— Jordan McPherson (@J_McPherson1126) May 21, 2022
The first sign of trouble for Hernandez came in the fourth inning. Matt Olson led off the inning with a double and Atlanta looked to break the scoreless tie with the 3-4-5 part of the lineup due up. Hernandez buckled down and got the next three Braves out, including striking out Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies.
4 scoreless innings from Elieser Hernandez?! 🫣 pic.twitter.com/2BIFrPAn24
— Fish On First Spaces (@MarlinsSpaces) May 21, 2022
Atlanta was finally able to get to Hernandez in the fifth inning. Hernandez got the first two outs of the inning but then surrendered a solo home run to Braves’ catcher William Contreras. Hernandez completed the inning after the homer but his night would end after just 70 pitches.
The big issue for Hernandez this season has been getting through the opposing team’s lineup the third time around. Playing on the safe side, Manager Don Mattingly saw just enough from his right-hander. Mattingly pulled him out after what is his best outing of the 2022 season. This is definitely a performance that Hernandez can build off of and gain confidence.
Elieser Hernandez's start is done
5 IP, 3 H, ER, BB, 5 K
70 pitches, 49 strikes— Tied for fewest runs given up in a start in 2022
— Nearly even split with the slider and four-seamer
— Top of the order was due up for the third time#Marlins down 1-0 pic.twitter.com/VqPJteO0zi— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) May 21, 2022
Wright Guy on the Mound
The Atlanta Braves had Kyle Wright on the mound to start the game. Wright faced the Marlins earlier in the season on April 22 and was excellent. He threw six shutout innings and racked up the strikeouts recording 11. Wright looked to build off that winning performance and it looked that way early on in the game.
Miami made Wright work in the first inning, making Atlanta’s starter throw over 30 pitches. Miami loaded the bases but Wright escaped the two-out jam. That was the only success Miami would find against Wright as he settled down for the remainder of his start.
Miami was only able to get two more hits off of Wright the rest of the way and wasn’t able to crack the scoreboard against him. Wright has pitched 11 scoreless innings against Miami this season with 18 strikeouts. This is another game where a Marlins starter pitches extremely well but does not get any run support. A troubling theme to start the 2022 season for Miami.
Kyle Wright pitched another GEM tonight for the Braves 👏🏼
5.0 IP
0 ER
2 H
3 BB
6 K
2.49 FIP
2.49 xFIP pic.twitter.com/f2PlOnJKdB— Kevin Keneely (@KevinKeneely1) May 22, 2022
The Comeback???
After Kyle Wright’s five shutout innings, Atlanta went with Darren O’ Day out of their bullpen. Garrett Cooper led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and Jorge Soler came through on a special night for the Cuban slugger. Soler was able to do some damage against his former team by driving in Cooper with a double to left-center field.
Atlanta added two more runs to their lead in the sixth inning thanks to Ozuna and Adam Duvall. Atlanta’s bullpen kept Miami scoreless in the seventh but pushed another run across in the eighth with a Brian Anderson fielder’s choice. Cooper and Soler were again part of that rally by leading the inning off with back-to-back singles.
The Marlins were facing Kenley Jansen in the ninth inning and almost capped off a comeback with a two-out rally. Jacob Stallings drew a walk while pinch-hitting for Payton Henry and Jazz Chisholm Jr. reached on an infield single. Cooper had himself a ballgame on offense and kept the lineup moving with an opposite-field double to right field. Stallings scored but the double was not deep enough for Jazz to come around as the tying run.
Jorge Soler was able to have the last laugh against his old ball club with the winning run in scoring position. Jansen struck out Soler and was able to secure the series win for Atlanta.
Miami's 9th inning rally gets cut short and they lose 4-3. Drop the series but have a chance to win the finale tomorrow afternoon. Kenley Jansen picks up his 10th save of the season and his 360th of his career. @Marlins #MakeitMiami @LemonCityLive @firstpitch305
— Alex “Milo” Aguirre (@aguirrethecap33) May 22, 2022
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