Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Nova stifles Marlins’ bats
Ichiro’s homer not enough as Marlins drop road finale to Pirates
PITTSBURGH — Two right fielders helped shape the Miami Marlins’ 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, a loss that sent Miami home with an underwhelming sub-.500 road trip through Chicago and Pittsburgh and with a series split over the weekend despite taking the first two games.
Giancarlo Stanton, the hobbled slugger, was the potential tying run when he pinchhit in the eighth inning, but struck out swinging at a slider low and away. He rebounded well from a right wrist contusion suffered Saturday, and the Marlins hope he will return to the lineup Tuesday.
And then there was Ichiro Suzuki, the living legend who rarely starts and has struggled to gain any offensive traction this season. He homered in the eighth to account for the Marlins’ only run.
“I had to replace Stanton today, so maybe, I should hit one,” Ichiro said through translator Allen Turner.
The long ball was Ichiro’s second of the year, his most in one season since 2013, when he was a full-timer for the New York Yankees and hit seven.
Sunday marked Ichiro’s 10th outfield start in 2017 — an average of one per week — and after going 1 for 3, he is hitting .198 with a .531 OPS. He said he didn’t know ahead of time he was going to be in the lineup Sunday, despite Stanton’s injury, and he didn’t have time to prepare in the ways he usually
“There’s things that you just can’t cover, practicing. You can practice as long as you want, but there’s just some things that you just have to experience in the game, in game situations.” Ichiro Suzuki
likes to.
This season, with his chances coming so infrequently, has been a challenge for Ichiro, who at 43 is baseball’s oldest position player by 3 1⁄2 years.
“Every day has been a battle for me,” Ichiro said. “There’s things that you just can’t cover, practicing. You can practice as long as you want, but there’s just some things that you just have to experience in the game, in game situations.”
“This is the first time experiencing a stretch like this, where you’re just not getting the opportunities,” Ichiro continued, noting that his previous seasons as the Marlins’ backup outfielder included more playing time due to injury.
“For me, what’s important now is not the numbers. It’s mentally hanging in there through this stretch, and also trying to get a feel for the game, getting that back, that feeling back. That’s what I’m focusing on doing, and hopefully I’ll continue to get there.”
The Marlins’ offensive futility Sunday was due largely to Pittsburgh righty Ivan Nova, who dominated for six innings, much like he did in his shutout in Miami in April.
Nova allowed one hit, a JT Riddle leadoff single in the fourth, and didn’t walk anybody. He has lasted at least six innings in all of his 13 starts this season.
“He pretty much did the same thing to us in Miami. I thought a little better today than in Miami,” Mattingly said. “You want to get him up in the zone. It’s easy to say. It’s hard to do.”
Marlins lefty Jeff Locke, pitching against his former team for the first time, allowed three runs in 5 1⁄3 innings
He said he experienced no different emotion despite competing against some of his best friends in the game.
“I thought maybe there might be,” Locke said. “No extra motivation, no extra adrenaline, nothing.”
Locke had trouble finishing innings. Through the first five frames, the Pirates went 0 for 10 with one or no outs. But with two down, they were 5 for 10 with a double, triple, walk and three stolen bases.
Locke threw more than half of his pitches — 48 of 89 — when he was one out away from ending an inning.
“That’s kind of been the case all season so far,” Locke said. “I’ve been really good at getting two. I haven’t been able to get the third out. That’s frustrating of course. It’s a major league team you’re playing against. If you give guys extra outs or can’t put someone away, they’re going to capitalize.”
Said Mattingly: “I don’t think two outs has anything to do with it.”
A four-game split against a last-place team is not what the Marlins had in mind after winning Thursday and Friday.
“We didn’t do enough to win that game,” Mattingly said.