Miami Marlins
Miguel Rojas as Marlins’ losing streak hits seven games: ‘We should be playing better’
%20(1).JPG "Miami Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas (19) plays during the a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jeff Dean)")
This is not how Miguel Rojas thought the year would play out. The Miami Marlins’ shortstop and de-facto team captain was part of the chorus during spring training and the lead up to the 2021 regular season saying the Marlins expected to be competitive in their division and build on the playoff run from last year’s pandemic-shortened season.
Instead, the Marlins are continuing to sink as the season nears its end.
A 3-1 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday — one in which the Marlins wasted another strong start from Sandy Alcantara (two earned runs allowed with a career-high 11 strikeouts in seven innings)— is the latest on the slog to the finish line.
“Not good. Not ideal,” Rojas said after Sunday’s defeat, the Marlins’ seventh consecutive loss and one that drops them to a season-worst 23 games under .500 at 51-74 with 37 contests left on the schedule. “This is not the way we envisioned this season to unfold by this time. I feel like we should — with whatever personnel that we have in this clubhouse — we should be playing better, with a little more sense of urgency about securing your job, doing whatever it takes to stay at this level and actually have a self evaluation of what you’re doing and how you can help a team win.”
Both Rojas and manager Don Mattingly acknowledged the obvious: The Marlins are playing with a lesser roster right now. The lineup is being mixed and matched as a slew of younger players — outfielders Jesus Sanchez, Bryan De La Cruz and Lewis Brinson; infielders Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Isan Diaz; and catcher Alex Jackson among them — get an uptick in plate appearances so the organization can have a better evaluation of them heading into the offseason.
“I know we’re in a tough spot,” Mattingly said. “I know we’re playing different people. I feel like guys are continuing to get ready. We’ve got enough young guys trying to show what they can do. I feel like there are enough guys continuing to play hard.”
Rojas, however, knows the team can play better.
“Come into the ballpark expecting to win,” Rojas said. “Not hoping to get the job done or hoping that today’s a good day for our starting pitcher. That’s the way to change this. You change this with the expectation of winning every single day. It doesn’t matter who’s your opponent. We’ve done it before. We played really good against the Dodgers (4-3 this year). We played really good against the Giants (3-4 this year, two losses by one run) earlier in the year. Against the Padres we had a really good series (3-4 this year, two losses by one run) and then all of a sudden we hit rough times. For me, it’s expectations to come every day and expect to win, not just hoping for the best.”
They have six weeks left to show what they can do.
Rojas’ message to his teammates: “Show whatever you can do to be part of this organization, not just the rest of the season but in the years to come. There’s [six] weeks worth of baseball left. That can tell a lot for what’s going to happen next.”
His message to the fans: “The product that we have on the field right now should be playing better. In my own eyes, I feel responsible for what’s happening because I’ve been here the whole year. ... We know this is not where we want to be. We want to make everybody proud in Miami but saying that is not enough. We have to come out to the field and perform every day ... and I will do whatever it takes to get things back on the right track.”
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No run support for Alcantara
Sunday was another prototypical performance from Alcantara.
Seven innings pitched. A career-high 11 strikeouts. Just six baserunners allowed.
And once again, he lost.
Alcantara coughed up two runs on a pair of solo home runs — to Tyler Naquin in the first and Mike Moustakas in the fifth — and the Marlins offense couldn’t give him enough run support.
Naquin added a second solo home run in the eighth against Anthony Bass.
Miami scored its only run of the game in the fourth inning, when a Jesus Sanchez ground ball bounced down the third-base line and into left field for an RBI double that scored Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Such has been Alcantara’s luck this season. The Marlins are 10-16 in his 26 starts and have scored two runs or fewer in 14 of those outings, including five of his seven starts since the All-Star Break.
They are an even .500 — nine wins, nine losses — in the 18 games in which Alcantara has a quality start, defined as throwing at least six innings and allowing no more than three earned runs.
“It seems like there’s a guy every year that doesn’t get runs,” Mattingly said. “This year, it’s been Sandy for sure.”
Alcantara admits there’s frustration when these types of starts happen — when he puts up a quality performance but ends up on the losing side of the decision — but followed up by reiterating what he has all season long by noting “I can do nothing about it.”
“I’ve just gotta keep doing my job, focus on everything I can do and keep working,” Alcantara said.
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