Cabrera's lethal pitch mix, location perplexes Braves in dominant 11-K start

ATLANTA -- Twenty has been a centripetal number for Edward Cabrera over the past few seasons.

His career has seemed to revolve around the number in recent years, as the 27-year-old righty made 20 starts in both 2023 and '24. But Friday night at Truist Park, Cabrera reached the round number in early August, putting together a commanding performance to help the Marlins beat the Braves, 5-1.

Cabrera finished the sterling start with season bests in several categories, including innings pitched (eight), pitches thrown (109) and strikeouts (11). It marked the 10th time he’s given up one earned run or less in a start this season, and the fifth time in his career he reached double-digit strikeouts.

Run production was provided by Xavier Edwards and a pair of rookies in Jakob Marsee and Troy Johnston, each of whom had an RBI. Heriberto Hernández, another rookie, launched a two-run homer a Statcast-projected 404 feet to left to put the Marlins up 5-0 in the fifth.

The win put the Marlins within a game of .500 at 57-58, and they’ll look to cross the threshold by sweeping their day-night doubleheader with the Braves on Saturday.

For Cabrera, who missed a significant portion of 2024 with a right shoulder impingement that flared up in Spring Training and later in May, reaching 20 starts was not a specific goal. He explained that his durability this season is a byproduct of the work he’s put in to remain healthy.

“I didn’t know about that,” Cabrera said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. on Friday’s start being his 20th. “That’s good to know, but it’s very important to stay healthy during the season, and that’s something that has been helping me a lot in this one.”

Cabrera's health has allowed his talent to shine effortlessly.

With Friday’s win, Cabrera moved to 6-5 on the season and dropped his ERA from 3.24 to 3.08. He notched three quality starts in July, closing the month out with a six-inning, one-run effort against St. Louis on July 28.

July also marked Cabrera's third straight month with a sub-3.00 ERA, while he’s given up two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his last 15 starts.

“Not giving up [has been the key to my recent success],” Cabrera said. “Just keeping my head high. I think that’s something that has been helping me a lot this season. It doesn’t matter the situation that we’ve had this season, just continue keeping my head up high.”

“Cabby’s” head didn’t drop for a second Friday night.

He produced four of his first six outs via strikeout, while retiring the side 1-2-3 in innings one, four and five. In fact, just one runner -- Jurickson Profar, who walked then stole second in the third -- reached second base through his first five frames.

It wasn’t until the sixth that Cabrera sustained real damage. Profar was the inflictor again, taking him deep to right on a 96.1 mph sinker for his sixth homer of the year.

But Cabrera settled right back into a groove after the wound, striking out Matt Olson and getting Drake Baldwin to ground out to end the inning. He then retired the side in order in the seventh and eighth to end his night. His final five outs were K's, and Cabrera unleashed a passionate scream after the last strikeout.

“It’s something that comes out naturally,” Cabrera said of the emotions. "It’s nothing against the other team, you don’t want to show up the other team. It just comes out naturally, mostly out of an outing just like that one. It’s just very exciting.”

“Truly it was a combination of all my pitches,” he said of the career night. "Just staying in the zone, and I think that batch [of pitches] that I had truly helped me during the outing.”

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough raved about his pitcher’s performance, emphasizing his continued growth on the hill.

“Cabrera was the story tonight,” he said. “[There are] a lot of superlatives you could use to describe this outing. It felt like he was in control and got to a rhythm very early on, and … he went to all of his pitches.

“We talked a lot about the growth that Cabby has shown this year. This was certainly his best outing. … You expect now when Cabby goes out there that he is going to give you a real chance to win that game.”