Hoeing's rough start points to Miami's bigger issues

HOUSTON -- With the first half coming to a close this weekend, the Marlins’ pitching staff will gladly welcome the break. What the group looks like to open the second half remains to be seen. Until then, Miami is just trying to get by.

Right-hander Bryan Hoeing went three innings for the second consecutive start in a 9-1 loss to the Astros on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park. He allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits with one walk and one strikeout.

With Wednesday marking Hoeing's final turn in the rotation before the All-Star break, it begs the question ... what might happen next week?

Will Hoeing remain in this role out of necessity since none of the injured starters are close to returning?

Could the Marlins recall No. 3 prospect Max Meyer, who tossed six innings of one-run ball for Triple-A Jacksonville on Tuesday? He hadn’t gone that deep into a game since April 13 -- his final big league start before being optioned to monitor his workload.

Other 40-man options include righties Valente Bellozo, Kyle Tyler, Shaun Anderson and Darren McCaughan. All have been given chances and succeeded to varying degrees.

"I think everything's in play, honestly, with so many injuries that we had early on in the season,” manager Skip Schumaker said. "And you know, potentially, Max coming up. That's not a for-sure thing yet. I think credit to Bryan. He's willing to do whatever we need right now. So if that's back in the ‘pen, I'm sure he'll say, ‘Great.’ If we say, ‘We're going to give you another start or two, or three or five,’ whatever it is, I think he'd say, ‘Great.’ That's just kind of the guy Bryan is. I'm just saying that it's not always fair, unfortunately, because it’s just the reality of where we're at right now.”

Miami initially intended for Hoeing, who spent two months on the injured list with a left hamstring strain, to return in a relief role until the total of injured starting pitchers reached seven -- at which point the organization pivoted toward the end of his rehab assignment.

The 27-year-old Hoeing had gone from a long reliever to a reliable setup man during the early part of 2024. Plus, his career splits point toward a trend: a 7.88 ERA in 10 starts vs. a 4.54 ERA in 44 relief outings.

"It's not easy," Hoeing said. "I've always said this. To bounce back from different roles within a season, especially coming off from injury, but that's no excuse. I think as a whole staff, we do a really good job of picking each other up. And my goal out there today was to give our team a chance to win, and that definitely was not the case. I struggled early.

"I got through three, but it was an ugly three, and then obviously led to Declan [Cronin] throwing a lot of innings as well, especially with the way our bullpen is right now. Like I said, I was maybe putting a little bit too much pressure on myself to provide innings. But at the end of the day, it's baseball. You have to find a way to put up zeros, and I did not do that today.”

Hoeing’s performance, though, ties into a greater issue for Miami.

Left-hander Jesús Luzardo was the last Marlins starting pitcher to win a game on June 11 -- nearly a month ago. That's the longest such stretch in franchise history. Since then, the starters have averaged 4.71 innings -- tied with the D-backs for second fewest in the Majors entering play Wednesday. Their five quality starts during that span are tied for last with the Dodgers and Giants.

Following Hoeing’s three innings, Cronin allowed a runner to score in the fourth on a fielder's choice when his throw sailed past catcher Ali Sánchez. Cronin kept Houston off the board in the fifth before being chased in a three-run sixth. Cronin needed 46 pitches to record seven outs, five via strikeout.

In order to avoid using another bullpen arm, Schumaker sent third baseman Emmanuel Rivera to the mound for the eighth. He tossed a perfect frame in his fourth pitching appearance of the season.

"Just trying to get as deep as possible into the game, obviously knowing with Bryan Hoeing starting, even at best we weren't going to get probably more than four out of him,” Cronin said. "So we were kind of expecting to use me and probably JT [Chargois] as well in a longer role today. I knew that going in. For me, the goal was just to try to give the team as many outs as possible."