'It's starting to come back' for Anderson after injuries

MIAMI -- Brian Anderson’s mom, Tammy, celebrated her birthday on Saturday. That night, her son plated the first of the Marlins’ two runs but was then ejected on the same play for arguing an out call at second base.

Anderson made up for it on Sunday afternoon with a solo homer, accounting for the entirety of the Marlins’ offense and one of their two hits in an 8-1 loss to the Dodgers at loanDepot park. While his homer -- a leadoff knock to open the bottom of the fourth inning -- was a personal victory, especially in a season broken up by three different IL stints, Anderson acknowledged that there was very little to celebrate after the loss.

“I’m just trying to build on it,” Anderson said. “Every time I have good at-bats, I try to find that feel again and just feel like I’m in the rhythm of the season again. I’ve been getting the opportunity to play every day and to get better every day, and I'm really thankful for that. And like I said, it's starting to come back.”

Sunday’s result is indicative of a consistent issue for Miami: the club’s power has been missing of late. Giving its starters a lead to work with hasn’t happened. The Marlins entered Sunday averaging 2.3 runs per game over their past 27 games -- 19 of which they lost. Now, it’s 20 of their past 28. And the loss marked their 28th game scoring one run or fewer.

Until Anderson’s long ball, Miami was being no-hit by Dodgers starter Julio Urías. Though the Marlins succeeded in knocking Urías out after six innings, it wasn’t because of an offensive outburst. And even when they did, they weren’t able to do damage against Miami’s bullpen, either.

“Definitely not a lot felt good today as a whole,” Anderson said.

Urías threw 101 pitches through his six innings, as Miami drew four walks against the starter, including an eight-pitch free pass by Anderson in the bottom of the sixth. That plate appearance helped to drive up Urías’ pitch count, as did Anderson’s first-inning walk (six pitches) and an 11-pitch strikeout from Luke Williams in the third.

After the Dodgers went to the bullpen, Miguel Rojas hit a two-out single off Chris Martin in the bottom of the eighth. But he didn’t even reach second base, as Anderson grounded into an infield forceout.

Even if a pitcher were to throw a no-hitter -- or a dominant complete game (as Sandy Alcantara did on Saturday) -- without any offense, the point is moot.

The Dodgers snagged an early lead after starter Edward Cabrera struggled with command in the first inning. But once he switched to prioritizing his curveball, he was able to hold L.A. to a 3-0 advantage until the sixth inning. With some offensive backing, it’s possible that more momentum could have shifted in Cabrera’s favor, and the Dodgers’ three-run top of the sixth wouldn’t have made as big of a splash.

And while hitting is contagious, so are struggles at the plate. As Anderson mentioned, having his momentum broken up by injuries didn’t help as he tried to build on his successes. The same could be said for Garrett Cooper, who returned from the concussion IL on Friday and entered Sunday hitting .125 over his past 12 games. He went 0-for-4 and struck out twice. (As a whole, the Marlins struck out 10 times.)

“[Cooper’s] been around long enough to know what he's doing,” Mattingly said. “He's a guy that understands his own swing. I think the fact [is] that the stoppages are really hurting [him].”

IL stints notwithstanding, the Marlins are struggling. Rojas entered Sunday hitting .198 over his past 23 games and went 1-for-4. Joey Wendle, who was out of the lineup on Sunday, has hit .179 with a .253 slugging percentage over his past 26 games.

It’s not a pretty time for the Marlins’ offense. They know that. And they know that there will be more games like Sunday’s as they grind through the final month of another season in which they are out of reach of the playoffs.

“We’ve got to turn the page and understand that tomorrow's a whole new game,” Anderson said. “You know, those guys – they put their shoes on one at a time just like everybody else. … Tomorrow's a new day and we're going to come in ready to play and compete.”