Riding high heading into his career-high 21st start of the season, an up-and-down night for Edward Cabrera ended on the latter side of that equation, a factor that eventually spelled the doom for the Marlins as they lost to the Guardians 9-4 on Thursday in Cleveland.
Things started swimmingly for Cabrera even before he took the mound. On AgustÃn RamÃrez’s 25th double and a wacky fielder’s choice play that scored two, Miami was staked to a three-run lead early.
The lead was very short-lived. Trying to establish with his sinker, Cabrera left many pitches up in his first frame, leading to him allowing a run before he recorded an out. At the end of a frame, the game had been reset, 3-3.
Cabrera showed the capability to start to settle in during the second, completely abandoning the two-seamer and going with his four-seamer and changeup, while mixing in slider and curve, a trend that would continue for the rest of the night. He started flying open a bit in the fourth, causing him to miss up, but Liam Hicks handled the situation well despite being paired with Cabrera for the first time since April. After the visit, Cabrera ended the third with a K then followed that up with his best inning of the night, working cleanly through the frame on 10 pitches. The bounce-back frame occurred after Hicks had scored a go-ahead run in the top of the fourth.
Despite Hicks’ efforts on both sides of the ball to get his starter back in the game and what could’ve been, things would once again come undone for Cabrera in the fifth. Following a walk and a stolen base, a bloop single put two runners in scoring position with one out. Cabrera then deviated back to leaving stuff up and allowed the go-ahead run to score. It would prove to be the game-deciding tally. For Cabrera, who pitched with an incomplete arsenal and inconsistent control, he ended the night with a 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K line. It was his shortest start since July 11 when he was removed early due to health concerns.
Leading off the seventh, Xavier Edwards walked and stole his 23rd base, but was stranded in scoring position. That was the closest the Marlins would come to winning their first series since sweeping the Yankees in Miami. Edwards went on to record a ninth-inning single and this was the seventh time in nine games he’s been on base multiple times. He’s off to a 24-for-63 (.381 BA) start to August.
In the home half of the seventh, the Guardians teed off on Valente Bellozo whom Clayton McCullough continues to rely on in close games. With one out, Cleveland scored three runs on two singles and a fielder’s choice. Bellozo, topping at 92 mph and struggling to induce weak contact, needed 30 pitches to get through the frame.
Miami showed some fight and made some noise in the ninth by loading the bases and forcing Cade Smith into the game, but the game ended on a Hicks fly out without another scoreboard tally.
With the loss, the Marlins fall to 58-63. Up next, they travel to Boston where a series against the Red Sox begins Friday night. It will be Miami’s first trip to Fenway Park since 2023. Sandy Alcantara is expected to oppose Lucas Giolito in game one.