Marlins struggle to capitalize on López's quality start, RISP

MIAMI -- Some teams have a clutch gene. Some players do, too. But lately, the Marlins have been struggling in those “clutch” situations.

It happened again on Monday night in Miami’s 3-2 loss to Los Angeles in 10 innings, securing the four-game series win (3-1) for the Dodgers. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Garrett Cooper -- who had tripled and reached first on an error earlier in the game -- struck out looking on three pitches (one of which he hit foul). Then, Jacob Stallings popped out into foul territory.

“Nobody wants to lose a game,” manager Don Mattingly said. “But these guys have continued to play hard. They continue to prepare. … They're working hard trying to improve, they're trying to learn on the run, a lot of them, [at] this level, and it's what you get when you're basically in the mode that we're in -- giving a lot of guys chances.”

It’s an all-too familiar theme for the Marlins, who are, like Mattingly said, at a point in the season where they’re working to give more players a chance to prove themselves. It’s a situation they experienced in the series opener on Friday, when they had runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth, after a leadoff homer tied the game at 5-5. That time, it was a groundout and a flyout that sent the game to the 10th, during which Miami managed to plate one run, but was unable to erase the deficit caused by Los Angeles’ five runs in the top of the inning.

Monday night was a different matter, obviously. On Friday, the bullpen had struggled to maintain a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning, allowing two runs to cross before giving up those five runs in the 10th. The bullpen did well in the finale, keeping the Dodgers off the board even when they threatened in the ninth. (They put runners on first and second, but that was it.)

Instead, a lack of hitting across the board (but especially with runners in scoring position) crushed the Marlins, despite a solid start from Pablo López.

López delivered six innings while allowing just two runs on five hits and three walks, striking out six while displaying his innate ability to bounce back -- he fanned four after allowing a two-run homer to Will Smith in the third, including three K’s around one walk in his final frame on the bump.

This type of thing continues to happen of late. Monday marked the 49th one-run game the Marlins have played this season. They have a 21-28 record in those games, and their batting average with runners in scoring position ranks in the bottom sixth of the league. In the finale, they went 1-for-13 with RISP and left 11 runners on base.

“We're at where we're at,” Mattingly said. “They're doing the best they can. I don't think anybody's out there not trying, so [I'm not going to] sit here and ding guys because they don't get a job done when they're doing the best they can.”

Monday was also the 49th game Miami has played in which its starter went at least six innings. And the Marlins have scored five-plus runs in just 11 of those games. That’s less than ideal run support, which tracks, given that they’d averaged just 2.3 runs per game in their 28 games since July 29, entering Monday.

So back to that bases-loaded, one-out situation in the 10th. Not pinch-hitting for Cooper made sense, given that he has (as a whole) had a successful season. Plus, he had reached base three times out of his four plate appearances vs. the Dodgers on Monday (he walked in addition to the triple and error).

But Stallings was 0-for-4 entering the 10th. So why didn’t Mattingly go to backup catcher Nick Fortes or shortstop Miguel Rojas, who was getting a day off? Or to Peyton Burdick, who hit the game-tying ninth-inning homer on Friday?

“Our analytics, the numbers -- Stallings was the best number,” Mattingly said. “He was quite a bit bigger than Fortes there, and Miggy and him were just basically even, so. We listen to the analytics.”

“I've been pretty good lately, and unfortunately today [I] was pretty awful,” Stallings said. “But it happens. It stinks that it was today, bases loaded a couple times, but that's the game I guess. I know guys have been struggling, but I think guys are starting to swing it better, [like] Joey [Wendle] and Andy [Brian Anderson]. It's nice to have Coop back obviously. And I think we'll get it going.”