INSIDE PITCH — MLB Team Report: Miami Marlins

Mistakes Prove Costly Vs. Explosive Nationals

[April 10, 2014]  WASHINGTON (The Sports Xchange) — Marlins manager Mike Redmond was thinking fast on his feet after Wednesday's game, which lasted nearly four hours and ended with Miami blowing a 5-0 lead in a 10-7 loss to the Nationals.

Redmond, whose team lost 100 games last year, made an interesting comment in his brief postgame talk with the media. And it showed he is pretty good at math.

"They have the ability to put up big numbers quick. We saw that tonight. They scored seven runs on two swings. It takes us 14 hits to get seven runs," Redmond said.

He was referring to a three-run homer by Washington left fielder Bryce Harper in the fourth and a grand slam by right fielder Jayson Werth, the latter coming in the eighth inning that wiped out a 7-6 lead by the Marlins.

Redmond was not saying that his team can't put up big numbers on one swing — certainly not with a club that has outfielder Giancarlo Stanton.

But he might have been saying that the Nationals have more weapons on offense than the Marlins, and that is probably the case.

Miami began the year 5-2 but made three errors on Wednesday while losing for the second night in a row. The Nats had 11 hits.

"Every time we got ourselves in a good position, we made a mistake that cost us. From the fourth inning on, it was really a struggle to hold these guys down. We used a lot of pitchers but we couldn't find a way to get those big outs and get it to (closer Steve) Cishek in the ninth," Redmond said.

NOTES, QUOTES

RECORD: 5-4

STREAK: Lost three

NEXT: Marlins (RHP Tom Koehler, 1-0, 3.00 ERA) at Nationals (RHP Stephen Strasburg, 0-1, 6.10)

PLAYER NOTES:

• RHP Jacob Turner (right shoulder strain) was placed on the 15-day DL, retroactive to April 4. RHP Arquimedes Caminero was recalled from Triple-A New Orleans, where he was 1-0 with an ERA of 2.25 in two games over four innings. Turner was injured during batting practice on Tuesday.
  

• LHP Brad Hand got the start Wednesday after RHP Jacob Turner was scratched after he hurt his shoulder during batting practice before Tuesday's game. Hand gave up four hits and three earned runs in 3 1/3 innings against the Nationals, including a three-run homer to LF Bryce Harper that landed in the upper deck down the right-field line.
  

• RHP Arquimedes Caminero was called up from Triple-A New Orleans after RHP Jacob Turner (right shoulder strain) went on the DL, retroactive to April 4. Caminero did not give up a run in 1 2/3 innings on Wednesday out of the bullpen in a 10-7 loss to the Nationals. He made his big-league debut with the Marlins in 13 games out of the bullpen with the Marlins last season.
  

• OF Christian Yelich showed why he is a promising young player for the Marlins as he had three hits and scored three runs in a 10-7 loss on Wednesday to the Nationals. He came up to the plate with two outs and two on in the ninth against closer Rafael Soriano and battled the veteran, fouling off several pitches before grounding out to second.
  

• RHP Carlos Marmol was tagged with the loss as he gave up a grand slam to Jayson Werth in the eighth inning on Wednesday. Manager Mike Redmond was desperate to get a lead to closer Steve Cishek for the ninth but it never happened. "I was trying to go in and get a ground ball. That's what I'm trying to do. The ball stayed a little in the middle and he hit it good," Marmol said of the Werth shot.
  

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Trying to throw a fastball down and away. It kind of went down and in, right into his happy zone." — LHP Brad Hand, who gave up a long homer to Nationals LF Bryce Harper in the fourth inning Wednesday.

ROSTER REPORT

MEDICAL WATCH:

• RHP Jacob Turner (right shoulder strain) was placed on the 15-day DL April 9, retroactive to April 4. He was hurt during batting practice before the April 8 game, according to manager Mike Redmond.
  

• INF Ed Lucas (left hand surgery) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 28. He is expected to be out until late April or early May. He had his protective cast removed on April 4. Lucas still cannot play catch or hit, but manager Mike Redmond says he will do other baseball-related activities. He is expected to be out at least a month.

• 2B Rafael Furcal (strained left hamstring) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 21. He was expected to begin participating in extended spring training in Jupiter, Fla., on April 7. Once Furcal can run without discomfort, he will begin a rehab assignment with Class A Jupiter. Furcal isn't expected to return until late April or early May.
  

ROTATION:

• RHP Jose Fernandez
  

• RHP Nathan Eovaldi
  

• RHP Henderson Alvarez
  

• RHP Tom Koehler
  

BULLPEN:

• RHP Steve Cishek (closer)
  

• LHP Mike Dunn
  

• RHP Carlos Marmol
  

• RHP A.J. Ramos
  

• RHP Kevin Slowey
  

• LHP Brad Hand
  

• LHP Dan Jennings
  

• RHP Arquimedes Caminero

CATCHERS:

• Jarrod Saltalamacchia
  

• Jeff Mathis
  

INFIELDERS:

• 1B Garrett Jones
  

• 2B Derek Dietrich
  

• SS Adeiny Hechavarria
  

• 3B Casey McGehee
  

• INF Donovan Solano
  

• INF Greg Dobbs
  

• INF Jeff Baker
  

OUTFIELDERS:

• CF Christian Yelich
  

• RF Giancarlo Stanton
  

• LF Reed Johnson
  

• OF Marcell Ozuna
  

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