Cabrera proves himself in pivotal moment vs. Padres

MIAMI -- There comes a time in a ballplayer’s career when a moment can define his trajectory moving forward. The Marlins hope Friday night’s stellar performance against the Padres is that for right-hander Edward Cabrera.

With Cabrera at 99 pitches and a pair of runners on with two outs in the seventh, manager Skip Schumaker visited him on the loanDepot park mound.

“I was looking down the whole time,” Schumaker said. “I was walking thinking about exactly what to do.”

“I was just thinking, ‘Don't take me out,’” Cabrera said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “I was trying to convince him. I think I convinced him to let me in there and get the final out.”

Several factors were going through Schumaker’s mind as he contemplated what to do. Though he already had been leaning toward keeping Cabrera in, making the decision an easier one was his shorthanded bullpen.

Calvin Faucher, Declan Cronin, Jesus Tinoco, Andrew Nardi and Anthony Bender were down. Three newcomers and righty George Soriano, who would surrender a game-tying leadoff homer to Jackson Merrill in the ninth of an eventual 6-2 loss in 10 innings, were the only relievers available.

“You can see it in his eyes that like he wasn't sure if I was going to give it to him or not, but I felt like this was his time to go and maybe a pivotal moment in his career, because I think it just gave him confidence against a really good team,” Schumaker said. “We needed him to give us length. He provided it.

“We've lost a few games in a row and we have zero bullpen, ‘We need you right now.’ Last year and the years before, I'm assuming [that] was Sandy [Alcantara]. You could have a tough couple outings and you knew Sandy was going to stop the bleeding, and Cabby did that for us.”

Added Cabrera: “He went and told me this is my game. And I just went and told him, ‘Yes. Got it.’”

Cabrera stood by his word, striking out Luis Campusano on a 93.9 mph changeup up and in to thwart the threat. He roared with emotion -- as did his teammates in the dugout -- to end the second-longest outing of his career.

The 26-year-old Cabrera, who worked around four hits and three walks, allowed a baserunner to reach scoring position in five of the seven frames but never buckled with a heavy dosage of changeups (53.8%) and curveballs (21.7%). He also got help from his defense.

After the first two batters reached to open the fourth, Cabrera induced a 5-3 double play from Manny Machado. Following Merrill’s one-out triple in the seventh, third baseman Emmanuel Rivera fielded David Peralta’s grounder and threw home, where catcher Ali Sánchez applied the tag for the out.

“Cabrera was dealing today,’’ Machado said. “We didn’t cash in, we had opportunities. He executed his pitches really well. He had us off-balance a little bit. He executed the pitches we couldn’t get to. Tip your cap sometimes, but keep battling.’’

This outing extended Cabrera’s scoreless-innings streak to 13 -- the second longest of his career. It marked the Marlins’ first quality start since June 27, when left-hander Trevor Rogers, who was dealt to the O’s ahead of the Trade Deadline, contained the host Phillies.

Entering the series opener, Miami’s 20 quality starts were by far the fewest in MLB. The Marlins had an MLB-low five starts of seven-plus innings this season, and none since Rogers on June 15 in Washington.

The primary reason for these dubious stats is the litany of starting-pitching injuries to Alcantara, Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers and Sixto Sánchez. Cabrera also landed on the injured list twice with a right shoulder impingement this season. With Rogers gone, now is the time for Cabrera to step up and realize his potential.

“I will say yes to that,” Cabrera said. “I feel great, very healthy, very strong. Every time I go out there, I'm going to give everything I've got.”

Added Schumaker: “We're at [the point] in the season [of] trying to figure out what guys are made of and who they are and their opportunity. This was the opportunity for him, and hopefully it provides some confidence, because it's not physical.

“It's never physical with him. And so hopefully this just proves that he's good enough to do that, and that should be his goal every single outing is six and seven innings, because he has the stuff to do it.”