MIAMI -- When Marlins manager Don Mattingly looked at his lineup card during Monday night’s 5-4 win over the Dodgers at loanDepot park, he compared it to a Mother’s Day card. That’s because there was so much pink, signifying all of his unavailable relievers.

The bullpen had been heavily used over the weekend due to Pablo López’s ejection after his first pitch hit Ronald Acuña Jr. on Friday night in Atlanta. Despite witnessing the lingering effects of that game in Monday’s eighth inning, Jorge Alfaro knocked the go-ahead homer in the bottom half in front of an open-seating home crowd for the first time since the pandemic.

“It was more like frustration over that we really didn't have our guys available, and really you feel helpless at that time, because you know you've got basically four guys that you can't use tonight,” Mattingly said. “So I know that's what I'm thinking during that inning. It's just like, you didn't really have anywhere to go. So that part was a little frustrating.”

Below is a breakdown of the bullpen usage over the weekend in Atlanta.

LHP Ross Detwiler
Friday: 3 IP, 41 pitches

LHP Richard Bleier (high leverage)
Friday: IP, 12 pitches
Saturday: IP, eight pitches
Sunday: IP, nine pitches

RHP Anthony Bender (high leverage)
Friday: 2 IP, 29 pitches
Sunday: IP, 16 pitches

RHP Anthony Bass (setup)
Friday: IP, nine pitches
Sunday: 2/3 IP, 13 pitches

RHP Dylan Floro (setup)
Friday: IP, 32 pitches
Saturday: IP, 31 pitches

RHP Yimi García (closer)
Saturday: IP, 11 pitches
Sunday: IP, 38 pitches

Additionally, right-hander John Curtiss landed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with neck stiffness.

Rookie left-hander Trevor Rogers, starting for the first time since being named to the All-Star team on Sunday, retired six of the final seven batters he faced after the Marlins gave him the lead in the third. But after Rogers’ five innings, Miami turned to a different cast of characters.

The first three relievers -- Steven Okert, Zach Pop and David Hess -- didn’t pitch against the Braves. Okert, whose contract was selected last week, tallied four outs. But Pop encountered trouble in the eighth trying to protect a two-run lead. He was chased with the bases loaded, and Hess permitted a walk and a game-tying sacrifice fly in his Marlins debut.

Anthony Bender, who opened his Major League career with 22 innings before permitting an earned run, recorded his first save by working around a leadoff error. He became the first rookie in Marlins history to record his first career save against a defending World Series champion.

Bender, whom the Marlins signed to a Minor League contract last November, had been told before the game that with García and Floro having thrown so much over the weekend, he could get the ball at the end in a close game. Mattingly said he expects to get a few arms back Tuesday.

“It's crazy looking back and seeing that I was in indy ball the last two years,” said Bender, who pitched for the Milwaukee Milkmen of the American Association of Professional Baseball in 2020. “It hasn't really processed to me that I was in indy ball the last two years and now I'm here pitching in the big leagues. I’ve kind of just been riding it out and going out there and doing my thing.”

Bender wouldn’t have gotten the opportunity had it not been for Alfaro depositing Victor González’s two-out slider over the center-field wall in the eighth. Bender, warming up in the bullpen, said the decisive blast got his blood pumping and adrenaline going.

“I've been working more on my defense, working more on having a good relationship with the pitchers,” said Alfaro, who snapped a 21-game homerless drought. “Just have a plan behind the plate, get to know them really good, get to know their strengths. That's what I'm focused [on] a lot this year. I know that's going to help us a lot. Whenever I have free time, I just get in the cage and try to work and get better on whatever I need to. Look for a spot in the strike zone, try to be more disciplined at the plate, trying to find a good pitch that I can drive through the middle.”