MIAMI _ Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly wasn't expecting perfection from Pablo Lopez when the pitcher took the mound against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday. Lopez, after all, was making his first big-league start since June 15 due to a right shoulder strain.
The main goal was to see Lopez compete, to see how he reacts to facing big-league hitters after a two-plus month hiatus, and set the tone for hopefully a strong final month of the regular season.
"I think it would be great to see him come back and pitch the way he was (before the injury)," Mattingly said. "He was rolling pretty good when he went down. I think it's going to be a good month to be able to get him back and hopefully be successful."
The Marlins lost 6-3 on Monday to start the four-game series at Marlins Park, with most of the damage coming on a Freddy Galvis home run off Lopez in the fifth, but Lopez otherwise held his own in his Marlins return.
The 23-year-old right-hander from Venezuela held the Reds to four runs _ three coming on Galvis' homer in which he drove a 93.2 mph two-seam fastball outside the strike zone 387 feet to left field _ on five hits and one walk while striking out three. Lopez threw 86 pitches, 53 of which went for strikes.
The fourth run Lopez allowed came on a Galvis RBI fielder's choice in the third that scored Josh VanMeter, who tripled earlier in the inning.
Neil Walker hit a two-run homer in the bottom half of the inning _ one of five Marlins hits _ to give Miami (47-83) a brief lead until Galvis' homer in the fifth gave the Reds (61-69) the lead for good. Eugenio Suarez and Phillip Ervin tacked on solo home runs against Kyle Keller in the eighth and ninth, respectively. Jorge Alfaro cut the deficit to three with a solo home run in the ninth.
Lopez was 5-5 with a 4.23 ERA, 73 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 76 2/3 innings over 14 starts heading into Monday. He had quality starts _ defined as throwing at least six innings while giving up no more than three earned runs _ in four of his final six outings before going on the IL.
His stats in that run: Nine earned runs allowed in 35 2/3 innings (a 2.27 ERA) with 34 strikeouts against seven walks.
Lopez threw five rehab assignments _ three with Double A Jacksonville, two with Triple A New Orleans _ to work his pitch count back up after being shut down for the first month of his IL stint.
His first three minor-league starts were struggles _ 12 earned runs over just five innings _ but he returned to form with the Baby Cakes. Lopez gave up just two earned runs over 9 1/3 innings with 10 strikeouts in his final two starts.
Lopez attributed his struggles early in his rehab assignments to overthinking _ "Am I doing this right?" "Am I separating on time?" "Am I getting on top of the baseball?" _ instead of focusing on pitching. Once he stopped worrying about minute issues, he said, the results came.
"It was knowing that I was healthy, knowing that my arm was OK and feeling good," Lopez said Sunday. "I just needed to be on the mound. ... Just leaving everything else behind me and let everything happen naturally."
He plans to keep that mentality with five or six more starts possible down the stretch.
