Smith outduels Kluber in latest gem for Marlins
The top of the Cleveland Indians’ lineup is just about as fearsome as it gets in MLB. Francisco Lindor, who finished sixth in American League MVP voting in 2018, bats first. Jose Ramirez, who finished third in the balloting, bats third.
Caleb Smith, who entered Wednesday with the Majors’ best ERA among left-handed pitchers, was undaunted. Through the entire first inning, the starting pitcher attacked. Smith struck out Lindor with a 93-mph fastball at the top of the zone. He fanned Leonys Martin with the same pitch. He got Ramirez on three pitches, finishing the at-bat with a changeup at the bottom of the zone to get an easy groundout to third. It all set the tone for one of Smith’s most dominant outings of the season — a seven-inning, eightstrikeout gem to outduel Corey Kluber and give the Miami Marlins’ a 4-2 win at Marlins Park.
In a young rotation teeming with potential, Smith has been the clearcut star so far this season in Miami. The lefty entered the series finale with a 2.17 ERA. He left after seven innings with his ERA down to 2.00. The Marlins (9-21) gave their starter an early lead and he dominated the whole way. Smith held the Indians (16-13) to just four scattered hits and two walks. Their only run came in the third inning when catcher Roberto Perez launched a solo home run over the leftfield fence. Smith (3-0) struck out the other three batters he faced in the inning.
Manager Don Mattingly went to his bullpen after seven innings with a 4-1 lead. Smith had only thrown 92 pitches and 21 one of those resulted in swinging strikes. Relief pitcher Drew Steckenrider tossed one scoreless inning, then pitcher Sergio Romo hung on for his fifth save of the season, giving Miami a split of a quick two-game series in front of 7,262.
To get there, the Marlins first became the latest team to pounce on Kluber (2-3) in the midst of the two-time Cy Young winner’s rough start to the season. Miami opened the game with three straight hits against the starting pitcher to take a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by slugging third baseman Brian Anderson. In the fourth, the Marlins tacked on two more when Jorge Alfaro, Jon Berti and Rosell Herrera — the Nos. 6, 7 and 8 hitters — notched three straight hits off Kluber to score two runs on a double by Herrera. Kluber’s outing lasted only three more batters. In the bottom of the fifth, Anderson ripped a line drive right back up the middle, nailing Kluber on his right forearm and knocking him out of the game with a contusion on his throwing arm.
MARLINS HOPE TO GET INJURED SLUGGERS BACK THIS WEEKEND
Garrett Cooper expected the worst when a Trevor Bauer fastball ran in on him and hit the slugger on his left hand Monday. A day later, Cooper seems to have dodged a bullet. The starting pitcher’s 96-mph fastball nailed Cooper below the knuckle on the outside of his left hand, catching a fair share of meat rather than strictly bone. Although his hand blew up quickly, X-rays came back negative and Cooper was able to avoid another trip to the injured list after just one game back on the active roster.
Swelling already began to subside Wednesday, although Cooper was not available to hit as he was still having trouble bending his hand to grasp a bat. Cooper, who started in right field on Opening Day the last two seasons and started at first base Tuesday, hopes to take some dry swings and be ready to play by the end of the weekend.
“I wasn’t as sore as I thought I was going to be,” Cooper said.
Cooper’s injury put the Marlins in a bit of a roster bind as Neil Walker continues to recover from a bone bruise in his left knee. The utility man, who has started 17 games at first base, hasn’t started since Thursday, although he has been available as a pinch hitter.
Walker took some ground balls at first Tuesday and did some light running, plus a bit of cage work. Miami is off Thursday and Mattingly hopes Walker will be ready to return to the starting lineup Friday when the Marlins open a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves in Miami.
“I feel pretty good about him,” Mattingly said. “I think in an emergency — we really want to stay from him — he would be a guy we could probably put on the field tonight.”
THIS AND THAT
Relief pitcher Austin Brice is nearing a return after pitching 1 1/3 innings for Class A Advanced Jupiter on Tuesday. Mattingly didn’t get into specifics because he doesn’t want anyone to worry about being the casualty for Brice’s return, but he said, “I expect him to be pretty much ready to go.”
JT Riddle, a fixture in the Marlins’ lineup early in the season, is now on the seven-day injured list in the minor leagues with back spasms. Miami optioned the shortstop to Triple A New Orleans last month and he hasn’t played since Thursday.