It took Trevor Rogers until the second inning of his season debut to look like the pitcher the Miami Marlins had so much optimism about at the end of spring training. That first-inning settling in period, however, ultimately proved costly for him individually and for the team overall on Monday night at loanDepot park.
Rogers threw 38 pitches, gave up four walks and allowed three runs before getting the first three outs. He barely made it through four innings as a result of the high pitch count, and the Marlins opened a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals with a 4-1 loss. The Marlins drop to 1-3. St. Louis is 2-2.
The Marlins hope it was an anomaly. Miami is going to need steady performances from Rogers moving forward, even more so than usual considering the club’s starting pitching depth — expected to be their strength this season — is quickly starting to get thin.
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The Marlins were already without top prospect Sixto Sanchez to start the season, with Sanchez starting the season at the club’s alternate training site in Jacksonville and then sustaining right shoulder inflammation after pitching a simulated game on Wednesday.
The Marlins then placed Elieser Hernandez on the 10-day injured list with right biceps inflammation Monday. Hernandez sustained the injury in Saturday’s win over the Tampa Bay Rays.
“Our depth’s going to be tested right away,” manager Don Mattingly said Saturday. “So hold on. Here we go.”
The roller coaster ride that could be became reality for Rogers in the first inning. His command was almost non-existent in the opening frame. The first nine pitches he threw were outside of the strike zone. He walked four batters, gave up a two-run double to Yadier Molina and had a wild pitch.
Rogers settled in after that, needing just 39 pitches to work scoreless second, third and fourth innings. He struck out six batters overall, and induced 17 swings and misses, including 13 with his four-seam fastball.
But Miami’s offense was held to five hits and scored its only run on a fifth-inning Starling Marte sac fly.
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With Hernandez on the IL, Nick Neidert is the first from the Marlins’ starting pitching reserve to get a crack at the rotation. He joins Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Rogers, with Miami using a four-man rotation to begin the season. Neidert’s first start will most likely come on Thursday against the New York Mets at Citi Field — the Marlins’ first road game of the season.
Neidert, the 12th-ranked prospect in the Marlins organization according to MLB Pipeline, made his major-league debut during the shortened 2020 season but was limited to just four relief appearances and 8 1/3 innings after being one of 18 players to test positive for COVID-19 during the team’s early season outbreak.
Neidert, a 24-year-old righty, impressed during spring training, recording 15 strikeouts against three walks and giving up just four earned runs in 12 2/3 innings.
“[Neidert] came back into camp again this year kind of got back on track,” Mattingly said. “You could see he kind of cleaned things up over the winter. He’s a guy that’s been a performer, and he continues to get better. ...He’s got a good little pitch mix. He’s a guy we think can compete.”
In other roster moves, the Marlins placed Garrett Cooper on the injured list after he had a reaction to his second COVID-19 vaccine shot. Since Cooper’s IL stint is COVID-19 related, there is not a time requirement for his time off the active roster, meaning he can be added back as soon as he’s cleared to play.
The Marlins added Jordan Holloway to the active roster in Cooper’s place, giving them another long reliever. Holloway threw two scoreless innings in relief on Monday.
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Miami Marlins Jazz Chisholm Jr. (2) reacts after stealing third base during the fourth inning of an MLB game against the Tampa Bay Rays at loanDepot park in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida, on Saturday, April 3, 2021. Daniel A. Varela DVARELA@MIAMIHERALD.COM
JAZZ CHISHOLM’S INSPIRATION
From the blue hair to the hard-hit balls to the savvy play on defense to the havoc he wreaks on the basepaths to the simple energy he exudes, Jazz Chisholm Jr. is making his presence known early.
And it goes beyond the field.
Chisholm, the Marlins’ starting second baseman and the No. 66 overall prospect in baseball, is trying to keep a promise he made to his grandmother, former Bahamian national softball team shortstop Patricia Coakley.
Chisholm said on an episode of the “Chris Rose Rotation” podcast that he promised his grandmother he would “keep pushing until I get that Hall of Fame plaque.” Chisholm recalled her taking him to the baseball fields in the Bahamas and then talking about the ins and outs of the sport while watching Marlins or Yankees games once they got back home.
“It made me fall in love with it,” Chisholm said, “because she just loved it so much.”
Chisholm went 2 for 10 with two walks and two stolen bases through the three games, but his production came at critical times.
He hit a two-out triple in the seventh inning on Friday to start a three-run rally. In the fourth inning Saturday, Chisholm drew a five-pitch walk, stole second on a pickoff attempt, stole third a pitch after the pickoff attempt and scored on a shallow sacrifice fly to right field.
“I think we are seeing the gear now and adrenaline that you hope will kind of will settle into his normal level,” Mattingly said. “I think he’s even above that right now. You know the juice that he’s feeling during games. He does play hard, and I’ve played with some guys that are base stealers and guys that are out there. They do take a pounding on their legs and their bodies, so it’ll be something we’ll watch and it’s part of our plans, honestly. ... We have other options that we can move guys around to give guys days off and make sure they’re rested and try to give them the best chance to stay healthy.”
