The Marlins continue their undefeated season with a 4-3 win over Colorado thanks to solid pitching and a couple of breaks.
Eovaldi and Bullpen Stifle Rockies
Nathan Eovaldi was fantastic on Tuesday night in Miami. Of Eovaldi's six strikeouts, five of them were via his fastball, which seemed to be right were he left off last season. In this start in particular, however, he really seemed to be comfortable working the upper half of the zone, at times looking like a vintage Jered Weaver. Troy Tulowitzki's RBI double off of Eovaldi in the fourth definitely wasn't a bad pitch from Eovaldi, more so just a good piece of hitting. Overall, Eovaldi looked fantastic in his first start of the year and he leaves a lot to be excited for regarding the remainder of the season. He needed 95 pitches to make it through six innings, and while one could make the argument to keep him in for a shot at one more, the bullpen certainly didn't let his strong outing go to waste.
Carlos Marmol pitched a solid seventh inning, getting two pop-ups and allowing just one hit. The only Marlins pitcher to run into trouble was Michael Dunn, who gave up two straight doubles in the top of the eighth. It was a rough outing for Dunn, but he did manage to get the next two outs and preserve the Marlins lead. Steve Cishek came on for the save and had no problem retiring the Rockies in order.
Marlins Capitalize at the Plate
Even though the Marlins could only manage five hits the entire game, it was still impressive that they could score four off of Brett Anderson, a tough, lumbering lefty. A Jarrod Saltalamacchia double down the left-field line started the scoring in the second. This was Saltalamacchia's lone hit of the game, as he finished 1-for-3, but it was an impressive piece of hitting to reach down into the zone and poke Anderson's slider down the line. Later, with the Marlins and Rockies tied 2-2, Reed Johnson led off the inning with a double over Michael Cuddyer's head in right field. Later that inning, with one out and a runner on first and third, Giancarlo Stanton grounded into what looked like a double play, but an errant throw into the dugout by Nolan Arenado kept the inning alive and gave the Fish the lead. Stanton came around to score later on a Casey McGehee single up the middle.
Tomorrow, Henderson Alvarez will take on the Rockies back at Marlins Park at the same time.