DENVER _ Series like this one _ a three-game road sweep at the hands of the Colorado Rockies _ seemed inevitable down the stretch for the Miami Marlins.
Sunday stung a little bit more though.
Garrett Hampson's 10th-inning, series-sweep-securing walk-off single against Jeff Brigham sealed the Marlins' 7-6 loss, negated a three-run ninth-inning rally and continued Miami's slide that has now extended over the past three weeks.
The Marlins dropped the first two games of the series 3-0 on Friday and 11-4 on Saturday.
Miami (45-78) has dropped five of its last six sets, with a four-game split against the Atlanta Braves the lone outlier. In that span, The Marlins have lost nine consecutive road games and 15 of 19 overall.
But in these times, these final six-plus weeks of a long season, the Marlins are trying to find the inklings of progress hidden within the losses.
Like with Jordan Yamamoto, who on Sunday had his best start since the All-Star Break after giving up at least four earned runs over each of his past five starts. The rookie righty struck out a career-high nine batters and gave up just two runs _ solo home runs to Arenado in the first and Charlie Blackmon in the sixth _ over 5 2/3 innings of work.
Like with Isan Diaz, who is getting an extended look at second base over the final two months of the season. He hit an opposite field single to lead off Sunday's game and scored on Starlin Castro's RBI double to center field one pitch later. His ninth-inning sacrifice fly that scored Lewis Brinson served as the go-ahead run. His error in the bottom of the ninth, however, allowed the Rockies (57-67) to continue their rally and ultimately force extra innings.
Like with Garrett Cooper, who responded from a day off Friday to go 4 for 9 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI in the final two games of the series. He scored twice on Sunday and is now on a nine-game hitting streak.
Like with Lewis Brinson, who continues to show his defensive value while trying to find his stride at the plate. Brinson made three big plays in center field over the first two games of the series to follow up his diving grab in the series finale against the Dodgers on Thursday. He hit a double in the ninth inning on Sunday after being robbed of a home run and an extra-base hit on Saturday.
Like with Harold Ramirez, who went 3 for 4 with a walk and two RBI on Sunday after hitting just .204 (11 for 54) over his last 17 games.
Like with Sandy Alcantara, who strung together his third consecutive solid start in Friday's loss after struggling after his All-Star Game appearance. Alcantara, the hard-throwing 23-year-old righty, gave up just two earned runs over seven innings against the Rockies. His lone blemish: a second-inning home run on a back-door slider that leaked over the middle of the plate. Alcantara has posted a 3.20 ERA (seven earned runs in 19 2/3 innings) over his last three starts.
These developments might not mean much in the scope of the 2019 season as losses pick up and the Marlins inch closer and closer to that 100-loss benchmark teams hope to avoid, but they give a glimpse of what Miami has at its disposal as it aims to become a more competitive club sooner rather than later.
Appreciating the foresight, however, is not always easy to do given the circumstances.
The Marlins are playing with even more of a hodgepodge roster than they had at the start of the year as the franchise continues on with the second year of its latest rebuild.
The bullpen is still a major work in progress since they shipped away their two best relievers in Sergio Romo and Nick Anderson as well as starter-turned reliever Trevor Richards in an attempt to add power bats to their organization.
The starting rotation has been shaky since the All-Star Break after the Marlins traded Zac Gallen to the Arizona Diamondbacks and with regulars Pablo Lopez and Jose Urena still on the injured list.
And the offense, outside of those rare moments when everything clicks, has steadily been ineffective. Miami consistently needs to rely on a small-ball approach to manufacture runs with a lineup void of multiple true power hitters.
So the Marlins will revel in the small victories.
