The Miami Marlins gave the ball to Steve Cishek late and a recurring theme continued in a 4-3 loss to the New York Mets on Sunday.
Cishek who entered the year as Miami's closer has faltered all season long in game-deciding situations. In this one, Cishek who is now 1-5 took over in the seventh inning in what was a tie game at the time. The Mets would go on to score one run off Cishek before he was lifted in favor of Mike Dunn.
The former closer now has a 6.98 E.R.A this season and has shown no sign of improvement since losing his gig. With A.J. Ramos pitching great and other arms such as Carter Capps stepping up, it appears more unlikely each passing day that Cishek regains his role. At this point, Cishek could find himself in only mop-up situations for the foreseeable future.
David Phelps made the start for the Marlins and got off to a tough start. The right-hander would settle in however and gave his team six innings of two-run ball. Phelps surrendered four hits, walked none and struck out two.
Justin Bour continued to be the biggest surprise in Miami's everyday lineup. The hulking first baseman clobbered his fifth home run of the season. It was also the third straight start for Bour that saw him leave the yard.
The story wasn't so good for Giancarlo Stanton however. The slugger was 0-4 and looked bad in his first at-bat vs Bartolo Colon. Stanton also flailed at multiple pitches in his eighth inning appearance that ended in a strikeout.
The Marlins will now head home for a series against the Chicago Cubs. Jose Urena will be on the mound on Monday.
