Miami Marlins’ most reliable setup relievers falter exposing glaring vulnerability

Yimi Garcia’s nearly spotless 0.60 ERA entering the playoffs stood out noticeably among mostly dismal numbers produced by the Marlins’ bullpen this season.

So in the seventh inning, needing to protect a 4-3 lead after starter Sandy Alcantara put two runners on base with no outs, Don Mattingly’s choice made sense.

“Yimi was our next best guy against that part of the order and we went there,” Mattingly said.

The move had worked out almost every time during the regular season.

But not Tuesday.

Garcia, who had allowed only one run in 15 innings (14 appearances), recorded only one out and gave up three runs on three hits including the go-ahead three-home run by Travis d’Arnaud that put the Braves ahead for good in a 9-5 Marlins loss in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Garcia did not give up a home run during the regular season, but allowed 15 over 62 1/3 innings while pitching for the Dodgers in 2019.

Mattingly then turned to another arm that had proven reliable during the regular season.

But 34-year-old James Hoyt (1.23 ERA in 14 2/3 IP and 24 appearances) surrendered a two-run home run to Dansby Swanson capping a six-run inning for the Braves — their highest-scoring postseason frame since Game 4 of the 1998 NLCS.

Marlins’ relievers worked 6 1/3 scoreless innings in Miami’s two wins in the first round over the Cubs.

Mattingly expressed confidence that both Garcia and Hoyt would bounce back in this series.

For the Marlins’ sake, they better since compared collectively to the rest of the remaining playoff teams, the Marlins’ bullpen looks like a glaring weakness.

The Marlins’ primary setup relief that also includes Richard Bleier (2.63 ERA) and Brad Boxberger (3.00 ERA) had pitched much better than its collective 5.50 bullpen ERA, which ranked 26th out of 30 teams in the majors, would indicate.

The top four teams this season in terms of bullpen ERA in order are the A’s, Dodgers, Rays and Braves. The Padres (14th), Astros (15th) and Yankees (16th) rank in the middle.

The Marlins’ bullpen also ranked 26th in WHIP (1.55), 29th in FIP (5.65).

“Both of those guys have been great for us all year long,” Mattingly said. “You still have confidence in both guys knowing they’ve been our best. They’ll get right back in there.”

Garcia and Hoyt have been two of the Marlins’ best strike-throwers in the pen.

Garcia’s 23.3 strikeout-to-walk percentage ranks sixth among all relievers with 10 or more innings pitched and seventh in ERA among that group. Hoyt’s 12.3 strikeouts-per-nine innings leads all relievers on the playoff roster.

But in Game 1, neither located pitches well enough to fool the Braves.

Marcell Ozuna connected on an 85.7-mph slider from Garcia on the inside half of the plate and singled to left to tie the game at 4.

d’Arnaud then crushed another slider (87.3 mph) that stayed over the plate 421 feet to center field to give Atlanta a 7-4 lead. Garcia exited after giving up a single to Ozzie Albies.

“Ozuna took a lot of pressure off me by getting that base hit and tying the game up,” d’Arnaud said during his postgame interview with Fox Sports 1. “I was just looking for a pitch to do damage on up in the zone, and fortunately I got it and tried to keep my head on it.”

Before Tuesday, d’Arnaud was a .169 career hitter in the postseason with 27 strikeouts in 89 plate appearances.

But during his first season with the Braves, d’Arnaud hit .321 with a .919 OPS, nine home runs and 34 RBI in 184 plate appearances (44 games).

Swanson then crushed the first pitch from Hoyt – an 87.2 mph fastball also over the plate – 407 feet to center field. Hoyt allowed only one home run in the regular season.

“(Garcia) looked like he left some balls where he didn’t want to,” Mattingly said. “Nobody wants to do that. Hoyt wanted to go up on the first pitch and left one right down the middle. We weren’t able to stop them there when we needed to.”