Following Thursday afternoon's 3-2 walk-off loss to the Mets at Citi Field, Marlins closer Anthony Bass received a vote of confidence from both his manager and his batterymate. The 33-year-old righty, signed as a free agent in late January to bolster a revamped bullpen, has blown two saves in as many chances.

“I definitely think it's too early to make a judgment on that,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said during a Zoom call. “Anthony's got good stuff. He's going to be fine. We're getting out of the gate here a little bit wobbly, so it seems like we've all kind of had our shot."

Bass surrendered a game-tying leadoff homer to Jeff McNeil in the ninth, then proceeded to load the bases with one out on Luis Guillorme's single, Brandon Nimmo's double and an intentional walk to Francisco Lindor.

In the decisive matchup against Michael Conforto, Bass threw a slider that home-plate umpire Ron Kulpa was set to call strike three. But the ball clipped Conforto's elbow guard and was ruled a hit-by-pitch to score the winning run. Following a replay review, the call was confirmed.

Chad Wallach, who was behind the plate for the second straight game with Jorge Alfaro nursing left hamstring tightness, said Bass executed a slider to the inner half of the zone -- just like he called for.

“I think he's just working through some things right now,” Wallach said during a Zoom call. “He's going to be great for us. It's [one of] his first outings of the year. I know nobody with us here is worried about him. Just once he gets locked in, he'll be great for us. We know that.”

The 10-year veteran posted a 3.51 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 26 regular-season games for the Blue Jays in 2020 en route to a playoff berth. He paced the club with seven saves in nine chances, and recorded four holds. After giving up four runs on four hits in a 15-pitch blown save in his debut last Friday, Bass rebounded with a nine-pitch ninth the following game. Entering Thursday, his sinker had a higher average velocity than last year (95.1 mph vs. 94.7 mph), but less movement in a very small sample, according to Statcast.

Through seven games, Miami's new-look bullpen hasn't produced as expected. Ten relievers have compiled a 6.43 ERA, with eight homers in 28 innings. Last season, the Marlins went 19-0 when leading after eight innings en route to the playoffs. They are 0-2 so far in 2021, and it’s one of the primary reasons for the club's 1-6 start -- its worst since '15. There are no alternate experienced options to close, with just 10 combined saves from the other relievers. Yimi García, Miami's setup man the past two seasons, has just two in his seven-year career. Since surrendering the decisive homer on Opening Day, he has pitched three consecutive scoreless outings.

"We got the lead going out there and we get in a bad count," Mattingly said of the McNeil at-bat. "Looked like we tried to go away and just pulled one across the plate into a bad area. Obviously we've had some trouble with that so far this year with making mistakes. Anthony's not trying to throw the ball there. He's trying to throw it away. So even before we get to all that [at the end of the inning], the frustrating [thing] is that kind of first hitter, and to give it back early.”