Luzardo hit hard as Marlins have 'dud' in Seattle

SEATTLE -- A big reason for the Marlins’ Major League-best 12-3 mark over the past two weeks, which catapulted them into a tie with the Dodgers for the third-best record in the National League, stemmed from the rotation’s dominance.

Marlins starters entered the second leg of their three-city trip 7-1 with a 2.86 ERA over the last 15 games. Considering the club was built around strong pitching, it’s no surprise the staff’s performance cracked the code to a winning formula.

That impressive stretch came to an end with left-hander Jesús Luzardo’s struggles in an 8-1 loss to the Mariners on Monday night at T-Mobile Park. Miami mustered just one hit against Seattle pitching on Nick Fortes’ homer in the fifth.

“I feel like that's our job, go in there and set the tone like you said, and keep our team in the ballgame,” said Luzardo, whose ERA climbed from 3.79 to 4.17. “And when we don't do that, it's frustrating as a starting pitcher. But I think as a staff we've done a really good job lately. Every guy goes out there and takes their turn and does what they have to do. So we just look forward to keep going back out there and doing that.”

Luzardo surrendered six runs (five earned) on six hits with three strikeouts and one walk. He had allowed no more than one run in four of his last six starts, with 43 strikeouts and six walks across 34 1/3 innings for a 3.93 ERA.

It had been a while since a Marlins starter:
• Allowed six or more runs (Luzardo on May 21 in San Francisco)
• Went four or fewer innings (Edward Cabrera on May 10 in Arizona)
• Gave up six or more runs and pitched four or fewer innings (Sandy Alcantara on April 10)

The 25-year-old Luzardo scuffled from the onset, something not often seen from Marlins starters in 2023. Entering the series opener, they led MLB with 16 runs permitted in the first inning this season, and just two this month.

Seattle matched that during a 30-pitch first, putting two hard-hit balls in play on two-strike sliders and capitalizing on Luzardo’s throwing error and Bryan De La Cruz’s dropped ball in left. In a 22-pitch second, the Mariners recorded a pair of hits on two-strike sliders, including Ty France’s three-run homer to make it a 6-0 ballgame.

"You strike out less if you don't get to two strikes,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “But you're still going to have plenty of at-bats with two strikes, and you have to recognize what his out pitch is, try to get it in a part of the strike zone that you can handle it, and don't get too anxious and chase. I thought we did a better job "

Of the six hits allowed by Luzardo, five came on the slider. Four of them went for extra bases. Luzardo believes he might’ve fallen into a pattern and needed to make changes quicker, especially with the Mariners’ approach. Should a future start arise where Luzardo’s slider continues to be left out over the plate, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker hopes he turns to the changeup more.

“I think they were on it,” Fortes said of the slider. “I think some of them were hung a little bit, but it's just something we're going to have to go back and look at and see if we can do anything differently or maybe sequence a little bit better. It's just something to watch and to just go back and learn from.”

After a pair of ninth-inning rallies led to a rousing series win over the weekend in Chicago against the White Sox, Monday marked just the second time in franchise history the Marlins recorded just one hit with it being a home run. Hanley Ramirez did so on June 26, 2008, vs. Tampa Bay in a 6-1 loss.

During that 12-3 stretch, Miami outscored opponents 79-49. The pitching staff and timely hitting had synced up.

“I never want to say I'm due for a dud,” Schumaker said. “I don't want to ever put it like that because our team is too good. We feel like we should win every game when we come into the ballpark. We just played a little sloppy today, and those games are going to happen every now and then. It's too bad it happened behind Zeus. And we just couldn't string anything together to get anything across the board. Tough day, one of those days, but we'll be back at it tomorrow.”