Miami Marlins get run in the ninth to slip past Arizona Diamondbacks 5-4 in series finale

The Diamondbacks’ Josh Rojas slammed his helmet on the ground beside home plate, then trudged back to the dugout in the fifth inning. His reaction to a called third strike seemed emblematic of the Diamondbacks’ frustrations on Wednesday afternoon.

“We lost to a team that we felt like we should beat,” Rojas said after the Diamondbacks dropped a 5-4 decision to the Miami Marlins at Chase Field.

The outcome left the Diamondbacks with their first series loss in 2 1/2 weeks, a tough pill to swallow in part because of the pitchers the Diamondbacks’ sent to the mound in the series.

“Obviously, I think losing two out of three with both me and (Zac) Gallen throwing,” right-hander Merrill Kelly said, “I think going into it we looked at it as a pretty good chance to win two out of three.”

The Marlins are a team coming off consecutive 90-plus-loss seasons, a club expected to again be out of the hunt by the middle of the summer. They came into the series with a record one game under .500 and an offense filled with underachievers.

“I don’t think we expected to lose today’s game,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “All the way through the final out of the game, I felt like we were going to win the game and I think everyone in that dugout did, too. I think we’re a little frustrated.”

The game was tied heading into the ninth before the Marlins got a pair of doubles from Jesus Sanchez and Joey Wendle, one each against relievers Andrew Chafin and Miguel Castro, to push across the go-ahead run.

Kelly was largely effective outside of a three-batter stretch in the fourth, when the Marlins got a seeing-eye single from Jorge Soler, a walk from Luis Arraez and a three-run blast from Sanchez, who went deep two pitches after a low fastball from Kelly that might have been a strike was dropped by catcher Jose Herrera.

The Diamondbacks’ offense was limited to five hits, four of which were singles, and struck out 15 times, including 10 whiffs against the Marlins’ bullpen.

The Diamondbacks chased Marlins starter Edward Cabrera from the game in the fourth, taking advantage of four walks he issued in a five-batter stretch. All four walks eventually scored.

Cabrera was gone after 3 1/3 innings, leaving the Diamondbacks to fend for themselves against the Marlins bullpen. It did not go well. They went just 3 for 19 with two walks and 10 strikeouts the rest of the way.

“Probably trying to do too much, getting too big, instead of just being a good hitter,” Lovullo said. “As you’re growing up as a young team, as soon as you figure that out — how to be dynamic and not always try to deliver the power punch — I think you become an unpredictable team, an unpredictable offense. I think we got predictable at times. We were a little too big.”

Rojas finished hitless in four at-bats, making him 5 for 40 (.125) with 14 strikeouts over his past 13 games. He admitted to feeling like he is pressing, trying to do too much, at the plate, but doesn’t think he is too far from figuring things out.

“Every day in BP I’ve felt pretty good,” Rojas said. “It’s not like I’m showing up to the yard knowing I’m going to struggle. I feel good up there and then I’m just not getting the results right now.”

He said he has felt for weeks like he has been too aggressive at the plate, and recently started trying to see more pitches. But he thinks he pendulum might have swung too far in the other direction in recent days.

“I’ve got to find that middle ground of being aggressive and taking pitches off the plate,” he said. “I’m taking more pitches but I’m also taking a few more strikes than I’d like to take. I’m right there. I feel like I’m close. It’s only a matter of time.”

—Nick Piecoro

SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | INJURIES

D-Backs' Evan Longoria learning new role

Evan Longoria has played nearly 2,000 games in the major leagues since he made his debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008 so he's seen it all. Now in his first season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he finds himself trying to adjust to a role that is foreign to him — that of a platoon player.

Longoria, now 37, plays primarily against left-handed pitchers with Josh Rojas at third base against the right-handers. Since there are far more right-handed pitchers than left, his at-bats are coming sporadically.

The age-old question is how to get and stay in a groove when you might play just a couple of games a week. Longoria is still looking to find that solution.

He was not in the starting lineup for the Diamondbacks matinee game against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday but he did get the start the previous night against the Marlins' Jesus Luzardo. The Diamondbacks lost 6-2 Tuesday night, but Longoria had three hits including his fourth home run of the season. It marked his second three-hit game of the season and he was a triple short of the cycle.

"Doing it in spring is different than doing it in season," he said. "I knew my role was going to play against left-handers for the most part. The difficult part is you don't know if it's going to be two days, three days, four days, whatever it is. It's taken a little bit of time to adjust to that. Also the pinch-hit role late in the game, being ready for those situations and trying to figure out a routine to get myself ready to do that, too. It hasn't been easy, but this game isn't easy. I didn't expect it to be."

Longoria added that he has always been a particularly slow starter even when he was playing every day, but the difference was that at least he knew he was going to get consistent at-bats and he'd eventually work his way into the form that has made him a three-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner.

He has 70 at-bats over 22 games and is hitting .229 with three doubles, four home runs, seven RBI and 10 runs scored.

"There have been times in my career, April and May are historically my worst months and in the past there has always been an understanding I'm going to get consistent ABs and I can work my way out of it," he said. "The role is what it is; I knew what I signed up for. I'm just trying to find that routine so I can be ready when I'm needed. I figured there was going to be a learning curve. I believe I still have a lot to give and it will turn around. Hopefully the last couple of days have me headed in the right direction."

Diamondbacks Manager Torey Lovullo says he is still looking to find that balance of how much he needs to get his veteran in the lineup to allow him to stay sharp.

"He has really been grinding through some of the past at-bats, the past four or five opportunities he had, so it was good to see him hit that home run," Lovullo said. "We want to get him enough at-bats he can get back to performing at the level he's used to performing. What is that number? We don't know. I know if he plays 140 games he's probably going to get a little fatigued. So we're looking to find that balance."

Whether he is in the starting lineup or not, Longoria knows his presence is valuable, as well, particularly with the Diamondbacks boasting a lot of young players.

"There are a lot of ways to contribute and being that influence for the younger players is one of them," he said. "I'm never going to be one to mope around if things aren't going great for me. This team is winning and that's the important thing."

— Michelle Gardner

Alek Thomas back in Diamondbacks lineup after 'recharge'

Alek Thomas was back in the Diamondbacks’ lineup for Wednesday’s series finale against the Marlins, his first start following three consecutive days on the bench. Manager Torey Lovullo said he was trying to give his struggling center fielder a chance to clear his head.

“I just want to give him a little bit of a breather,” Lovullo said. “More mentally than anything. I know he’s grinding hard. He doesn’t show it, but I know that all players go through that when they’re struggling and you look up there and see what your batting average is.”

Thomas has started the year just 20 for 100 (.200) with a .264 on-base and .340 slugging. Some of his batted-ball data would suggest he has swung the bat better than that, but his quality of contact has fallen off a bit recently. More concerning are his struggles against lefties; he is just 1 for 32 with one walk and 14 strikeouts against left-handers.

Two of the three games he has been out of the lineup were against left-handed starters. With his three-game “breather” behind him, Thomas should again get the majority of the starts against righties, Lovullo said. “I just felt like it would give him a little recharge,” Lovullo said.

— Nick Piecoro

Wednesday's Diamondbacks-Marlins pitching matchup

Diamondbacks RHP Merrill Kelly (3-3, 2.75) vs. Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (2-3, 4.78).

Kelly gave up one run in seven innings, walking one and striking out 10, in a win over the Nationals in a start that goes down as his best of this year to date. … He has been throwing the much better of late, posting a 2.63 ERA with seven walks and 25 strikeouts in 24 innings over his past four starts. … Kelly has not been great against the Marlins in his career, logging a 6.75 ERA in three starts, only one of which was a quality start. … Cabrera gave up three runs in five innings in his most recent start and has a 5.65 ERA over his past three, a stretch in which he has allowed 12 hits and walked 10 in 14 1/3 innings. … He has never faced the Diamondbacks. … Cabrera throws his change-up (32.9 percent) more than any other pitch. He has allowed just a .205 batting average against it and has a strong 39.6 percent whiff rate. His curveball is an equally strong strikeout pitch with a 39.7 percent whiff rate. His fastball averages 96.1 mph.

Tuesday game recap: Diamondbacks rookie Brandon Pfaadt roughed up in 2nd career start by Marlins, Jorge Soler

Coming up

Thursday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks LHP Tommy Henry (1-0, 5.17) vs. Giants RHP Alex Cobb (2-1, 2.01).

Friday: At Chase Field, 6:40 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Ryne Nelson (1-2, 6.00) vs. Giants RHP Ross Stripling (0-2, 6.66).

Saturday: At Chase Field, 5:10 p.m., Diamondbacks RHP Zac Gallen (5-1, 2.36) vs. Giants RHP Anthony DeSclafani (3-2, 2.80).

What to know about the Miami Marlins

The Marlins came into this series with an offense that has averaged just 3.3 runs per game while the pitching staff has posted a 6.16 ERA in those 13 games. 2B Luis Arraez was hitting an incredible .430/.483/.533 through 120 plate appearances, with six doubles, one triple, one home run and more walks (11) than strikeouts (seven). DH Jorge Soler leads the Marlins with seven homers. CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. is off to a slow start, hitting just .223, though he does have five homers and a team-leading 11 steals. LHP A.J. Puk had a 0.75 ERA in his first 11 appearances but has allowed five runs (four earned) in his past two outings.

Pregame reading

It's a process: Alek Thomas looking for answers against left-handed pitchers

Double trouble: Ketel Marte productive again from both sides of plate

One step closer:Prospect Kristian Robinson secures visa, nears return to minors

Throwback approach: Diamondbacks catcher Moreno's style helps him throw out baserunners

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Miami Marlins score in 9th, edge Arizona Diamondbacks in series finale