Marlins want López to be more on attack in '20

Righty gives up four runs in 4 1/3 innings, as Miami loses 5-4 in 15th

September 28th, 2019

PHILADELPHIA -- When the Marlins talk about wanting to be more on the attack, they mean much more than just filling the zone with strikes.

The organization is urging the 23-year-old right-hander to pitch with more fire, and quite frankly, to show more of a mean streak on the mound. At times, he showed it on Friday night in the Marlins’ 5-4 loss in 15 innings to the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

Adam Haseley put an end to the marathon when his grounder was misplayed by shortstop , allowing Rhys Hoskins to score on the error. The five-hour, 13-minute game was the longest of the season for the Marlins, topping the four-hour, 38-minute 3-1 loss in 14 innings to the Phillies on April 14 at Marlins Park.

“Every single outing, every single day was a learning experience I was able to take in and learn from," López said. "A lot of inconsistencies as well. This is a game where consistency is the game. I have a lot to learn going into the offseason. A lot of things I know I can work on to improve and just move forward.”

As far as moving forward and turning an eye towards 2020, Friday closed out the regular season for López, who allowed four runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. In 21 starts, he logged 111 1/3 innings. Most importantly, López finished the year healthy.

“Physically, I feel really good,” López said. “I'm happy I'm able to finish the season on that kind of note, knowing that my mind is healthy and body is healthy.”

As they are doing with all their players, the Marlins are conducting exit meetings during the weekend series at Philadelphia. In his second big league season, López is receiving feedback that pitching with some attitude isn’t always a bad thing.

“In general, we’ve talked about it to him,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It’s OK to be a bad guy. He’s such a good guy and nice guy. But you don’t always have to be nice on the mound. There has to be a place that you can get to where you’re a little angry when you pitch.”

López opened the season as the Marlins’ No. 3 starter, and he will head into Spring Training as a frontrunner to be a fixture in the rotation. To secure his spot, being more of a menace on the mound could be important.

“It might not be my personality, but that's always a good mentality to have on the mound,” López said. “Sometimes it might be helpful if you want to put more behind the pitches, and put some more finish to it, and put more intent on your pitches in two-strike counts. It's definitely something to look into, and try to work on that.”

On Friday, the Phillies tagged López for two runs in the first. César Hernández led off with a double, and he scored on Bryce Harper’s triple. In the fifth, his last inning of the season, he was lifted after a leadoff double by Hernández and a sacrifice bunt by Sean Rodríguez.

López’s night ended after 86 pitches and two outs shy of being able to qualify for a win. The Phillies scored after his exit on Harper’s sacrifice fly off Josh D. Smith, with the run charged to López.

“It looked like Pablo's stuff was kind of tailing off the inning before,” Mattingly said. “He was having trouble putting guys away in the fourth. Then, that fifth, leadoff double.”

Overall, López, who missed two months due to a right shoulder strain, finished 5-8 with a 5.09 ERA. Next year, the right-hander will strive for more consistency, especially on the road. His away ERA was 7.36 in 47 2/3 innings, compared to 3.39 in 63 2/3 innings at Marlins Park.

“Early in the game, I felt I got out of sync a little bit,” López said. “I was able to get it as the game went on. I still made some mistakes with some pitches over the heart of the plate, and they were able to put some swings on it.”