Offense continues to search for answers as rough stretch continues
LOS ANGELES
When Peyton Burdick lined an 0-1 pitch at the top of the zone in the seventh inning on Tuesday into right field, he did more than log the goahead RBI double the Miami Marlins needed in their 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres.
That hit, that run, snapped a streak of 16 consecutive games in which the Marlins scored no more than three runs. It was a stretch that tied for the eighth-longest streak in MLB history, was the longest since the thenCalifornia Angles in 1969 went 17 games without scoring more than three runs, and was three games away from tying the MLB record of 19 first set by the Brooklyn Superbas at the end of the 1906 season and start of 1907 season and later matched by the Cleveland Indians in 1942.
“A lot of good things happened,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said that day.
That lasted ... a day. Since then? Well, the Marlins are back to where they were before. Three runs on Wednesday in the finale against the Padres. One run on Friday to start a three-game road series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Two more losses.
One day of respite didn’t automatically cure the Marlins’ nearly seasonlong offensive woes they were hoping to eliminate in Year 5 of this rebuild.
Instead, the Marlins enter Saturday with the fourth-worst team OPS (.668), the fourth-fewest runs scored (441) and tied for the eighth-fewest home runs (107).
They have been held to three runs or fewer in 71 of 119 games — 59.7 percent of their games — and have a 17-54 record in those games. For comparison, the Marlins are 30-4 when they score five runs in a game — a feat they have accomplished just three times since the All-Star Break as they’ve fallen out of playoff contention.
“You want guys to keep fighting and keep playing hard,” Mattingly said.
“You find out who they are. You see what guys are like in times like this. Are they going to keep playing hard? Are they going to keep working? They’ve gotta keep showing up ready to play and the organization can make the decision of is this the right guy for us or is this the wrong guy for us.
“The frustrating part,” Mattingly added, “was we did this last year.”
The struggles have been magnified even more over these past three weeks.
Since July 30, when this extended stretch of offensive futility began, the Marlins’ .208 batting average is the worst in baseball. Their .274 on-base percentage is tied with the Angels for the second worst, and their .331 slugging is ahead of only the Detroit Tigers. It’s even worse with runners in scoring position (.189 batting average, .283 slugging). They have stranded 130 runners on the basepaths over this 19-game stretch — an average of nearly seven per game.
“We’re either a few hits or key hits away from getting closer to back in [games] or actually getting there,” Mattingly said.
They’re also missing key players who either were being productive or were acquired with the hopes of improving one of the league’s worst offenses.
All-Star second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. has been out since June 29 with a stress fracture in his lower back that is likely sidelining him for the rest of the season. Despite only playing in 60 games, Chisholm remains the Marlins’ leader in runs scored (39) and up until a week ago led the team in home runs (14) and RBI (45).
Jorge Soler and Avisail Garcia, Miami’s two big free agent signings, are both hurt as well and were not producing up to expectation when healthy. Soler is hitting .207 this season with 13 home runs and 34 RBI in 72 games. Garcia is hitting .232 with seven home runs and 30 RBI in 88 games.
As for those who are on the active roster, it’s been a collective struggle.
Before going on the seven-day concussion injured list on Friday, first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper was hitting just .160 (4 for 25) with three doubles, two RBI and no runs scored in the 10 games he played in this stretch.
Fellow first baseman/ designated hitter Jesus Aguilar, who last year led the Marlins with 93 RBI? He’s hitting just .167 (8 for 54) with three home runs and five RBI.
Shortstop Miguel Rojas? A .183 average (11 for 60) with two RBI and four runs scored.
Even infielder Joey Wendle, who was hitting .289 before this drought, has fallen into a slump. He’s hitting just .185 (12 for 65) with three RBI, two runs scored and 12 strikeouts against just one walk in the 18 games he has played in this stretch.
“This offense can be so much better,” Rojas said. “We just need to be in the same kind of group and in sync and we’re not there. We’ve been battling.”
That’s putting pressure on young guys — the prospects in JJ Bleday, Peyton Burdick, Charles Leblanc and Lewin Diaz among others — to carry the team while they’re getting their feet wet in the big leagues.
It’s also putting pressure on the Marlins’ pitching to be near perfect — although that hasn’t seem to have been a problem. Miami’s 3.10 ERA in August is the third-best in baseball. The Marlins have also thrown a league-high four shutouts since July 30. Those four shutouts have accounted for four of Miami’s five wins over its last 19 games.
“These guys [the pitchers] are going out and keeping you in a game on a daily basis,” Mattingly said.
If only the offense could produce a little bit more.
Jordan McPherson: 305-376-2129, @J_McPherson1126