Bats, López's gem join to end two droughts

OAKLAND -- The Marlins were on a near-historic run of weak offensive output, having scored four or fewer runs in 23 straight games. Now that they've snapped that streak, they're hoping to keep the good energy going.

The Marlins rode a four-run sixth inning and six shutout frames from Pablo López to a 5-3 win over the A's on Tuesday night at the Coliseum, scoring more than four runs for the first time since July 28, a 7-6 win over Cincinnati.

The drought ended at the right time for Miami, as the team was three games shy of the longest such streak in the Divisional Era (since 1969), trailing only the '69 Angels (26 games), '71 Brewers (25 games) and '71 Phillies (24 games).

"We know we've been struggling, especially offensively," said catcher Jacob Stallings, who drove in the Marlins' fifth run of the game. "But everybody was just excited for one another because we all wanted each other to do well, and obviously we want to win."

On the other side of the ball, López put his team in a good position to be aggressive at the plate with six scoreless innings on the mound. The 26-year-old righty held the A's to four hits and two walks, striking out five in one of his best starts of late.

"Any time your pitcher kind of sets the tone with the zeros, it always makes your guys better," manager Don Mattingly said. "And then every run you score, you start to get more confidence."

López began the 2022 campaign on a roll, drawing way-too-early Cy Young discussions. He pitched to an NL-best 1.83 ERA through April and May, but has since struggled to find consistency, especially in the second half. Entering Tuesday, his ERA had ballooned by nearly a full run, and he had gone 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA (18 earned runs in 18 innings) over his previous four starts.

On Tuesday, López seemed to find that early-season form once more as he stymied Oakland's lineup, earning his first win since July 26.

"You’ve got to give credit to their starter, too," A's manager Mark Kotsay said of López's performance. "The last two nights, these two starters have really pitched well. This kid tonight, I think, had 10 great starts to start the year. He’s scuffled a little bit, but we saw a good López tonight.”

López was especially sharp on Tuesday, getting 15 total whiffs (swings-and-misses) on his stuff -- and a whopping nine on his changeup alone. He didn't allow multiple runners on base in the same inning until the sixth, when he loaded the bases with two outs on two hits and a hit-by-pitch. But López escaped the jam, striking out Chad Pinder on six pitches to end his evening on a high note.

"It's one of those things that happened quick, like you get the leadoff guy out, but all of a sudden you start getting traffic," López said. "But you have to stay in the moment."

Added Stallings: "I thought he was really prepared before the game, really knew how he wanted to attack hitters."

Though López has pitched in parts of five seasons in the Majors, this season has brought many firsts for him, particularly in terms of durability. Previous seasons saw López miss significant time due to injuries, but thus far in 2022 he's already blown past previous career highs in just about every major statistic.

With each start pushing López deeper into uncharted territory, there has been plenty for him to learn along the way. And through the ups and downs, López has embraced the entire experience.

"It's really fun to be able to take the mound every fifth day," López said. "It's the first time that I've been able fortunately to go this deep into the season, so the way I'm looking at it, it's just I'm grateful for every single opportunity. I'm just looking to go out there, perform, give my team a chance -- and not taking anything for granted.

"I feel like sometimes, we don't enjoy the good times as much as we dwell on the bad times. I think I'm trying to see things through that perspective. Just being here, it's a blessing."