MIAMI -- Pitching will be at a premium for Miami over the coming days.
The Marlins got standout performances from Janson Junk, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara in succession, taking a 2-2 record across the past four days.
But Wednesday afternoon at loanDepot park, the Braves blasted starter Ryan Gusto to the tune of nine runs via seven hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings, as the Marlins lost, 12-1.
In the fourth, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough inserted the newly recalled Freddy Tarnok , whom the Fish brought up after optioning Josh Simpson, and placing Junk on the injured list.
And while Junk downplayed his injury (a right ulnar nerve irritation) severity, it comes at an inopportune time for a starting platoon that’s looked stellar as of late.
The 29-year-old righty, who’s 6-2 this season, felt discomfort in his right forearm during the sixth inning of Miami’s 7-6 extra-inning loss to Toronto on Saturday. Junk underwent further testing that came back inconclusive, but said he felt a “tingle” in his hand while throwing a bullpen this week.
That led doctors to diagnose him with ulnar nerve irritation, and Miami to sit him for at least 15 days (retroactive to Aug. 24).
“I’m feeling good right now,” Junk said, via The Miami Herald. “It’s unfortunate -- coming out the start, [the] day after I felt good. [I did] low intensity throwing and we were just gonna see how the bullpen went. I had some nerve stuff come up during that bullpen yesterday.
“It wasn’t anything crazy, I wasn’t too concerned. No pain or anything, I was able to finish the bullpen, but just having some little symptom, we’re just erring on the side of caution. And I think that’s probably the best thing to do in that situation. I respect the training staff for what they do. … I want to be out there for the guys … this is my first time on the IL, so it’s kind of tough for me to do that. But ultimately, for my future and the team, I feel like this is the best route.”
With Junk sidelined, the Marlins could turn to Tarnok to open their four-game series on Thursday with the Mets. Tarnok, who gave up two runs and struck out four in 2 2/3 innings Wednesday, has gone at least two innings in four of his last six outings (both Triple-A and the Majors).
Seth Martinez is another option in a potential bullpen game. He allowed a run vs. Atlanta after being called up alongside Tarnok.
Then there’s Adam Mazur, who started August 21 for Triple-A Jacksonville, and gave up two runs on four hits. And perhaps the man Marlins fans most want to see at the big league level: No. 4 prospect Robby Snelling, whose last 18 innings have been spotless in the runs department.
McCullough emphasized the importance of aggressiveness early in counts for his pitching staff as the Marlins head to New York.
“Today feels like more of an outlier from a strike-throwing perspective,” he said. “That's something that our group has done a really nice job of, and today we didn't, and it burned us.
“... It's a good New York offense. And when you face good offenses, you have to throw the ball over the plate, you have to work to gain count leverage, so you have the ability to expand when you want to. And I expect us to flush this one quickly and move into the weekend series in New York and go out and do just that.”
Without an off-day until next Thursday, potential new arms will be counted on to support the innings load.
As for Junk, who led MLB in walks per nine innings ahead of Saturday (0.96, min. 75 innings), and held a 6.44 strikeout to walk ratio, he’s relieved that doctors don’t believe he’ll be out long-term.
“I’ve seen the doctor,” he said “ ... All of my tests came back pretty clean. Things like that happen as a pitcher, it’s just annoying because I’m not in pain. It’s more of a feeling rather than [pain].
“It's gonna be a day-by-day thing. I’ll take today off, and then tomorrow just kind of get back into it. It’s not a long-term shutdown right now. 15-day IL, just hoping it’ll be that. … Hopefully, [I’ll] be back out there soon.”