Marlins send message with emphatic 4-2 trip

Following a forgettable 1-5 homestand to open the season, the Marlins hoped a change of scenery would reverse their fortunes. The road trip got off to an ominous start with a controversial walk-off hit-by-pitch in New York on April 8. After that? Miami beat perennial National League Cy Young Award contender Jacob deGrom, then captured a four-game series in Atlanta for the first time in seven years.

Though the Marlins' four-game win streak was snapped in Thursday afternoon's 7-6 walk-off loss to the Braves at Truist Park, they finished the trip with a 4-2 record against two of the favorites in the NL East and laid the foundation for what they can be in 2021.

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“This one kind of stung a little bit, coming back in the top of the ninth and then you get walked off, but hey, we won the series, took three of four against a good ballclub,” said Marlins starter Trevor Rogers, who allowed a two-run homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. over five innings. “I think this whole road trip really got us going, little change of venue from playing back home. But I think we played some good baseball. We're ready to get back home and keep going.”

So what was the club’s recipe for success? The bats woke up, and the bullpen showed improvement. The next step is carrying that over to loanDepot park, where Miami has struggled in recent memory. En route to their first playoff appearance in 17 years in 2020, the Marlins went 11-15 at home and 20-14 on the road. They have not had a winning record at home since ‘17.

Miami has slashed .218/.299/.316 with two homers, a .615 OPS and 3.2 runs per game in six home contests in 2021. Those numbers are skewed by a 12-7 win over the Rays, because the offense was also shut out twice. Entering Thursday, Miami had slashed .258/.335/.440 with six homers, a .775 OPS and six runs per game in five road contests.

According to FanGraphs, the Marlins recorded a -0.26 clutch win probability -- third worst in the NL -- during their opening homestand. On the trip, it was 0.60 -- second best in the Majors. The timely knocks fall more in line with how the veteran lineup produced in 2020, when it had 131 hits (ninth in the Majors) and a .779 OPS (12th) with runners in scoring position.

“It’s just been a huge collective team thing, even beginning from last year,” said Garrett Cooper, who hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs in the top of the ninth. “You move in the right steps as a team, not individually. Everyone's doing their job. It's not just one guy winning ballgames, it's one through nine. They're doing their job, and I think this road trip was huge for us.

“We started off slow; I think everybody was trying to do a little bit too much. It is a long season, the ebbs and flows -- you can go up, you can go down. It’s part of the season, and we're back to 162 days. It's not the sprint anymore that it was last year. You’re going to go through your lumps, you’re going to go through your bad stretches. It's how you pick yourself up the next at-bat.”

The same could be said for the revamped bullpen, which compiled a 6.75 ERA and surrendered seven homers on the homestand. On the road, Marlins relievers posted a 3.33 ERA and gave up three long balls. Five of the nine earned runs allowed on the road came in the trip’s finale.

By playing so many close games, the Marlins had a few pitchers unavailable on Thursday, including Yimi García, who had notched the save in each of his first two chances. Dylan Floro was unable to follow suit, snapping a stretch of seven straight scoreless appearances to open his Miami career.

“It's not so much just beating the Braves; I just think you see what kind of club we’ve got here,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We’ve got a fairly balanced club. We can get you from a bunch of different directions. You're starting to get a group of good players. We got some guys in the bullpen that are throwing the ball good.

“If we can keep them rested and keep our starters doing what they've been doing for the most part, keeping us in games, giving us chances, I think you start to see the foundation of what we look like. I think that's what you're going to see. We just have to be consistent in what we do.”