MIAMI -- The Marlins entered 2021 with aspirations of a return to the postseason in large part because of their rotation’s potential. The organization planned on Elieser Hernandez being a reliable piece after a breakout ‘20 campaign that was cut short by a right lat strain.
Instead, Miami dealt veterans with expiring contracts at the Trade Deadline and sits fourth in the National League East. Hernandez has spent time on the 60-day injured list twice, with the club working around the absence of several pitchers by using a franchise-record 17 different starters.
Hernandez was solid in his return, while Jazz Chisholm Jr. snapped a homerless drought in the Marlins’ 4-1 victory over the Cubs on Sunday afternoon at loanDepot park. Miami swept a series from Chicago for the first time since 2012, and has won a season-high-tying four in a row.
“You see how many different guys we've ended up using,” manager Don Mattingly said. “It's going to be a positive for some guys that have gotten opportunities and gain experience, but Elieser's solid. This is a good starter, and he's consistent pretty much every time out. So you start looking at Pablo [López], Sandy [Alcantara] and Trevor [Rogers] and him in that mix. It just would have been another consistent starter for us, where we've been [going with] bullpen games and moving starters back and forth. It just would have been a more consistent rotation for us.”
Magneuris Sierra broke a scoreless deadlock with a one-out RBI single in the fifth, allowing Hernandez to bat for himself and go back out for the sixth at just 68 pitches. Sierra is 7-for-20 with four RBIs since Aug. 6, when the road trip began in Colorado.
But Hernandez surrendered a leadoff homer to Frank Schwindel on a full-count, 90.5 mph four-seamer. When Matt Duffy singled with one out, Mattingly pulled Hernandez after 82 pitches. He entered with a career 7.63 ERA in the sixth inning, and has not completed six frames since Aug. 30, 2019.
Mattingly was impressed with Hernandez’s return. Until he began to tire, he was on the attack with a fastball at the top of the zone and a slider he used for three of his four strikeouts.
Miami retook the lead when Chisholm went deep for the first time since July 10 in the sixth. He had slashed .235/.286/.294 with a .580 OPS in the 15 games between homers. Jesús Aguilar added a two-run shot in the seventh to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
In his previous at-bat, Chisholm sent a 105 mph lineout to second. Back in the dugout, he went up to Mattingly and asked how the results could start turning in his favor following some bad luck on hard contact. His skipper said to keep lining out, because “it’s going to get there eventually.”
“I was just going up there trying to get on base and start something up for the team, get us going and try to score a run,” said Chisholm, who also singled before Aguilar’s homer. “I ended up getting a pitch that I could handle, and I've been missing that pitch all [day]. I told myself I'm not going to miss another one down the middle, and I got one down the middle and I crushed it.”
That homer put Paul Campbell in line for his first MLB victory after he came on in relief of Hernandez, who compiled a 5.11 ERA in 53 games (21 starts) from 2018-19 before posting a 3.16 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in six starts last season. His 2021 campaign has been an injury-filled one, as he exited after just 34 pitches in his season debut on April 3 due to a blister issue. Trying to overcompensate, he tweaked his delivery and was transferred to the 60-day IL with right biceps inflammation.
In his return on June 3, Hernandez held the Pirates to one run on three hits with six strikeouts at PNC Park. But he sustained a right quad strain running the bases in the sixth inning and went to the 60-day IL for a second time.
During his second rehab stint, the 26-year-old Hernandez changed the grip on his changeup with the help of the organization’s pitching coordinator. That pitch was one he made a focal point in Spring Training, and he used it nine times in the series finale.
“To be honest with you, it's been a hard year for me,” Hernandez said via an interpreter. “I've never had this many injuries, but I kept myself very positive mostly, mentally, and now we're here and looking forward to positive results.”