Jarred Cosart sharp again, but feeling pang of unfinished business
MIAMI -- Miami Marlins right-hander Jarred Cosart walked off the mound with two outs in the eighth inning of a six-run lead to cheers from the 19,957 fans in attendance.
Cosart was in line for his fourth straight win -- poised to match a career long -- after mastering the Atlanta Braves in an 11-3 victory Friday night.
So why did he look so upset when teammates greeted him inside the dugout?
"It's pretty frustrating at the end, same way I've gone out the last three games," Cosart said. "(Pitching coach) Chuck Hernandez thinks I'm just trying to get ahead of myself because I want to finish, look ahead because the game and all that. Got to work at one pitch at a time so I can get to that point.
"Coming out the same way the last three games is wearing on me a little bit. Again it might be that I'm looking ahead because I really want to finish a game. Everybody does. Maybe just focusing on executing one pitch at a time next time around."
The 24-year-old entered the eighth with 85 pitches. He walked the leadoff batter -- his first of the game -- before B.J. Upton singled. After a fielder's choice, Jason Heyward produced an RBI groundout. Andrelton Simmons followed with a two-out RBI single that chased Cosart.
This pursuit of a complete game, which would be the first for a Marlins player not named Henderson Alvarez this season, will have to wait until Cosart's next outing.
Still, his recent five-start stretch is nothing to be ashamed of.
In his Miami debut Aug. 1, Cosart gave up four runs, including two inherited runners, in a loss. He failed to turn an inning-ending double play and sustained a stiff lower back that kept him out of his next scheduled start.
Since then, Cosart is 4-0 with a 1.27 ERA. He entered Friday with the lowest ERA in the majors since Aug. 12. The Marlins have won his past five starts, and in four of them he has pitched seven innings or more.
On Friday, Cosart went 7 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on five hits with a walk and six strikeouts, his most as a Marlin. Of his 101 pitches, 67 went for strikes. Until the eighth, he allowed just a one-out single to Evan Gattis in the second and a two-out double to Heyward in the sixth, retiring 17 of 18 to open the game.
Cosart mixed all three of his pitches -- the fastball, curveball and changeup -- for strikes and got ahead early. He credits Hernandez, who called for a small mechanical adjustment that has made his pitches more consistent.
"That's what it's been about in the past," Cosart said. "Fastball command's gone away as I've gotten later in games with the Astros. Been able to keep that throughout the game and the spin on my curveball and depth of my changeup. It's a matter of repeating the mechanics or delivery that has been huge.
"You're never a finished product, so I've just continued working on little stuff and taking one pitch at a time if I want to go longer in the game. That'll be the finish line. When I'm in a groove early I'm just trying to execute my pitches."
Even with Freddie Freeman's opposite-field solo homer in the seventh, snapping a streak of 207 consecutive batters -- 49 2/3 innings -- without giving up a home run, the Braves couldn't manage much on offense as the Marlins built up a 7-1 lead.
"You see the momentum after we score we're able to go out there and shut down the team," manager Mike Redmond said. "It's huge. He was able to get some quick swings, early swings. Keep his pitches down. He did. He had great tempo. It's fun watching him compete."
Miami (68-71), coming off four straight series losses, needs to make up ground in the National League wild-card race. Its opponent, Atlanta (73-68), is ahead in the standings. The Marlins are five games back of the Milwaukee Brewers.
With Alvarez sidelined for at least one start with a left oblique strain, the rotation must make do without him and step up.
"He did exactly what we needed him to do, come out there first game of the series and set the tone," Redmond said.
Cosart, who executed a pair of sacrifice bunts and collected his second major-league hit, reiterated that sentiment. He also scored his first career run in the fourth.
"Trying to win ballgames," Cosart said. "Anything I can do."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
