MIAMI -- An unexpected off-day for Landen Roupp might have changed his routine for the rest of the season.
When the Giants' series finale against the Braves was postponed, Roupp had to alter his preparation. Usually, the right-hander does his scouting on the opposing team the day before his start, and with six days between outings, he came a little earlier to loanDepot park on Friday.
The adjustment may have paid off.
"I kind of like it," Roupp said. "Locked me in and was fresh on my mind going into the start, so I might start doing that now."
Looking for length from their starter, the Giants got exactly that from Roupp, who struck out seven and allowed two runs over six frames. But despite one of his better outings in recent weeks, San Francisco fell, 4-3, to the Marlins.
Entering Friday, Roupp was 0-6 with a 5.77 ERA over his previous eight starts and had completed at least six innings only once – in his May 19 outing against the D-backs. The Giants have also now lost each of his last nine starts.
Roupp realized Miami's lineup was hunting his curveball early, so he adjusted, using it only when he felt hitters weren't looking for it.
The right-hander generated a 36 percent whiff rate, striking out four batters with his changeup while also generating weak contact with his sinker. The changeup was especially effective on his glove side, featuring enough depth to get both right-handed and left-handed hitters out.
Roupp exited the game with 98 pitches and owns a 4.15 ERA so far this season with 89 strikeouts. The efficiency was also greatly appreciated by the righty.
"Honestly, when I looked up there in the fourth inning and only saw 65 pitches, I was kind of shocked," Roupp said. "It's been a while since I've been able to do that. So, I think I was just competing and getting down the mound better today, moving better."
Roupp's lone slip came in the first inning, when Owen Caissie hit a solo home run on a cutter that was intended for the outside corner but leaked back across the plate.
"I knew as soon as it left my hand it was going to be hit hard," Roupp said. "I just feel like that was really the only mistake I made, and I wish I could get it back, but I just can't do that."
Roupp located to both sides of the plate and limited the damage despite allowing seven hits. His batterymate, Daniel Susac, thought the right-hander also did a nice job of not letting things snowball.
"If a guy got a hit, he kind of just bared down and got through it," Susac said. "I thought it was really impressive, so [he did] great."
Roupp’s pitch count has tended to climb early in games this season. What manager Tony Vitello liked on Friday were the pitch mix and the intent to induce contact, which might have helped with Roupp’s pitch count.
"[Roupp] self-admittedly has said [he] hunts swing-and-miss too much at different times in the count," Vitello said. "A little bit of it tonight was, take a stand, try to induce contact, know your stuff is good enough. You'll get weak contact even when you are attacking, or you might even get swing-and-miss."
After Roupp exited, Sam Hentges, Ryan Walker, Dylan Smith and Erik Miller pitched in relief. Miami took the lead in the seventh inning against Hentges, using a hit-by-pitch and two singles to push across the tying run. Miami then took the lead on Caissie’s sacrifice fly to left.
"He did a good job of keeping us off the barrel," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said of Roupp. "I thought our at-bats were OK. We weren't able to cash in early on, but Owen had a good swing. And that type of profile, we're just trying to get [Roupp] off the bottom [of the zone], try to get him elevated.
"There were times that we probably chased ourselves out of some at-bats by expanding, especially down below the zone, and not forcing him on the plate and up. We hung in there and were able to at least get it done there at the end."