CHICAGO -- Sunday's series finale at Wrigley Field would've been Marlins rookie left-hander Trevor Rogers' turn in the rotation. But as has been the case all season, the club elected to give a starter extra rest thanks to off-days on Thursday and Monday. That has been the organization's plan from the beginning -- monitoring the workload of its young starting pitching.

The 23-year-old Rogers threw just 29 2/3 innings in the abbreviated 2020 season, including the playoffs, and his career high is 136 1/3 frames between two Minor League levels in '19. He already has thrown 81 2/3 innings in '21. This will give him one fewer start than more experienced arms Sandy Alcantara and Pablo López.

"We're seeing those extra days really, really help them," manager Don Mattingly said. "Now there's a little bit of a method to using these days, because the way we're going to do this one actually will take a start away from him, and that will help to keep the innings down, because he's racking up every time he goes out there.

"He's pitching solid games. The innings are just piling up. So we've got to keep an eye on him over the long haul, and that's where we look at this extra rest. The time we can get it for him, not just him but all our guys, especially the younger pitchers, you're going to try to build in these breathers to be able to use the off-days. We think it helps us actually in the long term to keep him going without having to get to a point where we shut him down."

Rogers, the reigning two-time National League Rookie of the Month, is scheduled to start Wednesday against the Blue Jays at loanDepot park. He last pitched on Tuesday against the Cardinals, allowing one run over six innings. Rogers doesn't expect to change up his routine too much despite the two extra days -- perhaps just more time in the training room.

"[Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.] communicates really well," Rogers said. "Talked to me [Friday] and was like, 'Hey, we want to give you a few extra days, because [of] the off-day after the homestand.' It's always great to have that, especially a pitching coach that really cares about his guys and wants them healthy and really understands that this is my first full season. He's really keeping an eye on that -- Donnie as well. I'm taking every off-day that I can right now and just try to stay healthy."

A gem for dad
López paid the perfect tribute to his late father, Danny, in Saturday afternoon's 11-1 victory over the Cubs. He threw seven scoreless innings, allowing just a bloop single to Eric Sogard, with a hit-by-pitch and seven strikeouts.

"This game today had a lot of meaning for me with Father's Day coming tomorrow, my first Father's Day without my dad," López said following the outing. "Fortunate enough to pitch the day before. I wore the Father's Day cleats and everything, so just hope he's as happy as I am with how everything went today."

Danny, who was a doctor, lived in Venezuela. But he made frequent trips to South Florida to watch his son pitch. He died after suffering a heart attack last July.

"It's one of those intimate moments, it's hard to keep to yourself, just because I would always picture him after a good inning," López said. "He would just stand up, clap his hands, so he's always in my mind, he's always there with me. I felt his presence with me on my shoulder every single time. Not just this outing, every outing, but this one had a little more special meaning today."

He said it
"I didn't know it was going to leave the park once I hit it. That's why I was running really fast, and when the ball left the field, I felt such a relief. It was like, 'Phew.'" -- Jesús Sánchez, on his first MLB homer, via an interpreter