MIAMI — Shawn Morimando did his job. The Miami Marlins’ 28-year-old left-handed pitcher threw five scoreless innings against the Atlanta Braves on Friday after scheduled starting pitcher Zach Thompson was a late scratch while dealing with an illness. He kept the Atlanta Braves at bay and kept the Marlins in reach during the first game of their final series before the All-Star Break.
As for the rest of the team? That’s another story.
The Marlins’ offense fell flat and the Braves built up their lead late after Ronald Acuna Jr. took issue with being hit by a pitch (yeah, that story again) en route to a 5-0 Marlins loss at loanDepot park. It’s the 10th shutout loss for the Marlins this season.
The Marlins (38-49) recorded just two hits, stranded all five runners that reached base and went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. They played from behind from the start, with Freddie Freeman hitting a solo home run off Anthony Bass in the top of the first.
But the drama escalated in the seventh as rookie reliever Anthony Bender became the latest Marlins pitcher to join the Acuna hit-by-pitch saga.
With one out in the seventh and the Marlins down a run, Bender’s 82.4-mph slider on a 2-1 count hit Acuna’s elbow guard. Acuna started walking toward the mound before being stopped by Marlins catcher Jorge Alfaro and home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Braves manager Brian Snitker and first base coach Eric Young Jr. walked with Acuna down the first-base line as Acuna angrily threw his bat and elbow guard on the ground.
Now, some background: Acuna getting hit by Marlins pitchers is a sore spot for the Braves, dating back bating to that Aug. 15, 2018, game when Jose Urena plunked the budding superstar. Both benches cleared that day. Snitker had to be restrained as he tried to get to Urena, who now pitches for the Detroit Tigers.
Bender’s offspeed offering was the seventh pitch by a Marlins player that hit the Braves’ outfielder and the second this year. Pablo Lopez hit Acuna with a sinker in the first pitch of Miami’s 1-0 loss to Atlanta on July 2 at Truist Park that resulted in Lopez, manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. being ejected.
The Braves scored two runs in the inning, with Ozzie Albies’ double to left scoring Acuna and an Austin Riley RBI triple scoring Albies. Atlanta added onto its lead with an Orlando Arcia’s pinch-hit RBI double that scored Dansby Swanson in the eighth and a Swanson RBI single that scored Riley in the ninth.
The Marlins have had a relief pitcher pitch at least four scoreless innings in each of the last three games — Jordan Holloway (4 1/3 innings) on Wednesday, Nick Neidert (four innings) on Thursday and Morimando (five innings) on Friday. It’s the first time in club history the Marlins have had a reliever work four or more innings in three consecutive games.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last MLB team to have a reliever go at least four innings without allowing a run in three consecutive games was the Baltimore Orioles from Sept. 12-14, 1991 (Dave Johnson, Jim Poole and Todd Frohwirth).
Morimando’s efforts on Friday were a pleasant surprise. He entered Friday with just three big league appearances and had given up 10 earned runs in 5 1/3 innings in those outings.
But with the Marlins without a starting pitcher for Friday’s series opener with Atlanta, the career minor leaguer was called upon to give Miami length out of the bullpen after Bass threw the first inning.
Morimando threw 90 pitches and worked around three hits and four walks while striking out five and keeping the Braves off the scoreboard during his time on the mound.
