The Miami Marlins have been looking ahead to next year for a few months now. One pitcher who seems to be in their plans is right-hander Adam Oller.
Oller is scheduled to start for Miami on Tuesday in the second game of the three-game set at the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Marlins (54-90) signed Oller (1-2, 4.15 ERA) to a minor league contract in July, a week after he was released by the Cleveland Guardians’ organization. The 29-year-old has made four starts since he was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville on Aug. 19.
Oller went 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA in three appearances in August. He most recently dropped a decision against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday after surrendering four runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings of a 5-2 loss. He struck out six but walked five.
“I feel like the first five innings were really good,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Overall, there’s some really good things that are happening with him.”
The Marlins trailed 1-0 when Oller came out for the sixth. He got the first batter out, but then surrendered a solo home run, a walk and a single, ending his evening. The bullpen didn’t bail him out either, allowing the two inherited runs to score as well.
“To be in the situation I was in going into the sixth inning, still giving the team a chance to win, I hang my hat on that for the moment, but at the same time, I’m not by any means happy with the way that outing went,” Oller said. “The frustrating part is I feel like that outing could have gone a lot different and could have been a really, really good outing for me.
“I guess the positive is I made really good pitches, I got really good hitters out and I did leave with my team having a chance to win.”
Oller will have to contend with a talented young lineup in his first career appearance against the Pirates (68-76).
Oneil Cruz, 25, blasted a 444-foot home run in the Pirates’ 3-2 victory over the Marlins in the series opener on Monday.
It was the 19th home run of the season for Cruz but the first for the 6-foot-7 center fielder since Aug. 9.
“It has been a long time and it always feels good to just come back and hit a home run and get myself back into it,” Cruz said through an interpreter. “I was kind of tired of hitting the ball in a line for a long time, but we’re back.”
Despite hitting just one home run in August, Cruz batted .389 for the month.
“It’s just he didn’t get a lot of balls elevated,” said Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton, who moved Cruz from shortstop to center field in late August.
Shelton said he was impressed that Cruz didn’t go up to the plate looking to break his home run drought.
“He stayed within his swing,” Shelton said. “He stayed within his approach because he’s going to hit them. The one he hit (Monday) was two strikes and he just shortened up and almost hit the batter’s eye.”
Shelton will use right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski as an opener on Tuesday. Mlodzinski (2-5, 3.73 ERA) will be making his fourth start and 32nd appearance of the season. He has a 2.08 ERA as an opener. In his most recent outing, he allowed one run in one inning of relief against the Washington Nationals on Sunday.
In three career outings against Miami, all in relief last year, Mlodzinski is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA.
–Field Level Media