Marlins drop 9th straight game, falling 3-1 to Cardinals

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The winless Miami Marlins, who are off to the worst start in the franchise's 33-year history, dropped their ninth consecutive game on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Steve Matz and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Iván Herrera and Brendan Donovan each had two hits for St. Louis. Jordan Walker contributed an RBI double.

Matz (2-0) surrendered four hits in five scoreless innings. Ryan Helsley pitched the ninth for his third save.

“I thought my fastball was working really well,” said Matz, who threw 85 pitches. “I'd definitely like to go deeper into the game. Bullpen did a great job. It was a good win.”

The Cardinals turned two double plays. Through nine games, St. Louis has not committed an error.

“Guys are continuing to play really good defense,” manager Oliver Marmol said. “Details matter. They're making it important.”

Miami's Trevor Rogers (0-1) was charged with three runs, two earned, and five hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked three.

“They're finding holes and they're finding grass . ... My stuff feels good. It just didn't go my way,” Rogers said.

The 0-9 Marlins are the only winless team in baseball. The New York Mets, who dropped their first seven games, beat the Detroit Tigers 2-1 on Thursday for their first win.

Baltimore holds the big league record with 21 losses to start the 1988 season.

“It always starts with starting pitching,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “No one ever has lost from a shutout before but that's asking a lot. I think collectively all together, we have to figure it out. I'm not telling people to do more than they can do. I don't need one guy to carry the team. We've talked. We don't need any more talking."

Miami has lost 10 consecutive games dating to last season. It has dropped 13 of its last 16 at Busch Stadium.

“We've got to find ways to win," Schumaker said. "That's the tough part. We have to figure it out pretty soon.”

The Cardinals scored two runs in the fourth. After Herrera singled and Nolan Gorman walked, Walker doubled down the leftfield line. Walker was called out at second, but the call was overturned after it was challenged by St. Louis.

Gorman was thrown out at home on a grounder to third, but Walker scored on an errant pickoff throw to first by Rogers.

“That mental error — the pickoff move — can't happen,” Rogers said. “Got to make that play. It's something I've done since I was a little kid.”

The Marlins have allowed 10 unearned runs season.

St. Louis added a run in the fifth. Herrera singled home Donovan, who led off with a double.

“Little things add up to big things,” Donovan said. “Everybody's showing up and pulling on the right end of the rope.”

Miami scored in the eighth against Andrew Kittredge. Luis Arraez doubled and scored on a single by Josh Bell, who had two hits.

“Other than that, we just couldn't get anything going,” Schumaker said.

GUARDIANS 3, TWINS 1

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — David Fry hit a three-run homer and seven Cleveland pitchers combined on a two-hitter, helping the Guardians beat the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Saturday.

On a day when they lost ace Shane Bieber to season-ending elbow surgery, the Guardians showcased their pitching depth while improving to 7-2 this season.

Carlos Carrasco worked three innings of one-run ball. The 37-year-old right-hander struck out six and walked three before he was pulled after 78 pitches.

Nick Sandlin (2-0), Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Scott Barlow, Tyler Beede and Emmanuel Clase combined to blank Minnesota over the final six innings. Clase worked the ninth for his fourth save.

Joe Ryan (1-1) struck out seven over six innings for Minnesota, but he paid dearly for a hanging sweeper that Fry deposited into the second deck in left field in the second.

Alex Kirilloff put the Twins on the board with an RBI triple in the first. It was the third straight game with a triple for Kirilloff, who came into the season with two triples in 640 career at-bats.

But Minnesota didn't manage another hit until Carlos Correa singled with two out in the ninth. The Twins went 0 for 11 with runners in scoring position and struck out 14 times.

Minnesota also struggled to score in the series opener on Thursday. It struck out 15 times and went 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position in a 4-2 loss.

Even though the Twins had just two hits Saturday, they had plenty of chances to break through as the Guardians walked seven and hit three batters.

In the sixth, Byron Buxton was hit by a pitch and Max Kepler walked with nobody out. Former Guardian Carlos Santana then hit a roller up the middle against his first big league team, but second baseman Andrés Jiménez made a diving backhanded stop before flipping the ball with his glove for the forceout at second.

Gaddis then hit Matt Wallner to load the bases. But he struck out Ryan Jeffers and Willi Castro to end the threat.

ATHLETICS 4, TIGERS 0

DETROIT (AP) — Brent Rooker homered, Paul Blackburn pitched six sparkling innings and the Oakland Athletics earned their second win of the season, beating the Detroit Tigers 4-0 on Saturday.

Zack Gelof walked and scored three times as Oakland (2-7) ended a four-game losing streak.

Detroit only got two runners to second base in the first seven innings. The Tigers are off to a 6-2 start, but their lineup has been shaky so far.

“We weren't able to get continuous pressure on them today,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “Clearly, that wasn't a good offensive performance.”

Blackburn (1-0) continued his strong start to the season. The right-hander allowed three hits, struck out four and walked none.

“Anytime you can put zeros on the board and walk away, you know it is a good outing,” he said. “I probably threw more changeups today than I've ever thrown in a game. That wasn't the plan, but it was working to lefties and they've got a lot of good ones over there.”

Using a five-pitch repertoire, Blackburn has given up six hits and one walk in 13 scoreless innings this season. He also finished spring training with 15 2/3 scoreless innings.

“Obviously, we saw this from him in his All-Star season,” Oakland manager Mark Kotsay said. “When he is able to mix his pitches, he keeps hitters off balance. He had everything working today and he was throwing strikes.”

Detroit's Kenta Maeda (0-1) allowed three runs on two hits and four walks in 5 2/3 innings.

“In the first inning, I was still struggling with my mechanics from my first outing,” Maeda said through an interpreter. “After that, I could attack hitters and that changed my outing.”

Rooker gave the A's a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer off Maeda in the first.

“It's huge whenever your offense can strike first, especially in the top of the first,” Blackburn said. “But it is especially big given how things have gone for us in the first eight or nine games.”

Hinch brought Joey Wentz out of the bullpen with two out in the sixth and a runner on second, but Seth Brown made it 3-0 with an RBI single.

Oakland made it 4-0 in the eighth. Wentz departed with one out and Gelof on second, and Rooker blooped an RBI single over second base off Will Vest.

Detroit's Carson Kelly doubled off Mason Miller with one out in the eighth and Spencer Torkelson drew a two-out walk, marking the first time Detroit had two runners on base. But Kerry Carpenter grounded to first base.

Miller then worked a scoreless ninth.

“Mason's stuff is just electric,” Blackburn said. “He's coming in at 100 or 102 with a wipeout slider and today he threw a change that surprised every person in the park. He's perfect for the back end of a bullpen.”