The Miami Marlins turned to their ace on Saturday to even their three-game series against the visiting New York Yankees at one win apiece
Fresh off Sandy Alcantara’s third complete game of the season and 12th in his career, the Marlins on Sunday afternoon will look to deal Yankees‘ ace Gerrit Cole his second straight loss
Cole (10-3, 2.75 ERA) will square off against Miami rookie Eury Perez (5-4, 2.79) in a battle of right-handers in the series finale
The Yankees are 9-1 this season when Cole pitches after his team loses its previous game, although that setback came to pass in his last outing
Cole, 32, looks to rebound after sustaining his first loss in over a month in his last outing. The six-time All-Star was charged with four runs on five hits in seven-plus innings of a 5-1 setback against the Chicago White Sox on Monday
“Just a tough night out there,” Cole said, per Newsday. “Just couldn’t put enough good pitches together in the eighth. Just battled all game.
Cole has allowed two runs or fewer in 18 of his 24 starts this season, tying San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell for the most such performances in the majors
Cole is 2-3 with a 4.70 ERA in seven career starts against Miami
He will need to keep tabs on Luis Arraez, who showed signs of working his way out of a 1-for-14 slump by belting a two-run homer in the first inning of the Marlins‘ 3-1 victory on Saturday. Arraez finished 1-for-4 and saw his majors-best batting average dip to .365
Jake Burger recorded two hits for the second straight game. He has six hits during his four-game hitting streak
Perez, 20, has lost his last three decisions with the Marlins, including a 5-2 setback against the Cincinnati Reds on Monday that marked his first big-league start since July 6. The 6-foot-8 hurler permitted four runs on five hits — including homers on consecutive pitches in the fourth inning — in that contest
“These batters are veteran batters, they know their stuff,” Perez said through a translator. “Some of the walks didn’t help me, mostly in that third inning. The changeup location was working very well. I was happy to get the opportunity.
Perez has yet to face the Yankees in his young career
Gleyber Torres carries an 11-game hitting streak into the series finale. His single in the ninth inning was the fifth hit of the game by the Yankees, who were just 1-for-2 with runners in scoring position on Saturday after going 7-for-13 in the series opener, their 9-5 win
“We need wins. This time of year when you lose a ballgame, it’s that (type of) sting,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “… For us, it’s about getting wins right now. We know we need to rack those up, so (it stings) when you don’t follow up a really strong performance where you get held down by a pitcher on top of his game today.
–Field Level Medi
