Despite early blown saves, Miami Marlins sticking with Bass at closer for now

Anthony Bass’ first two attempts to shut down a game and earn a save with the Miami Marlins have not gone as planned.

First, he gave up a go-ahead three-run home run to Joey Wendle in an eventual 6-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on April 2.

And then, on Thursday, he gave up a game-tying leadoff home run to the New York Mets’ Jeff McNeil, loaded the bases and lost on a controversial walk-off hit by pitch call to Michael Conforto for a 3-2 Marlins defeat at Citi Field to drop Miami to 1-6 on the season.

Marlins manager Don Mattingly, however, isn’t giving up on Bass as the team’s closer just yet.

“I definitely think it’s too early to make a judgment on that,” Mattingly said. “Anthony’s got good stuff. He’s going to be fine. We’re getting out of the gate here a little bit wobbly.”

The Marlins signed Bass to a two-year deal this offseason. The 33-year-old journeyman and 10-year MLB veteran has played on five teams during the past five years, including a stint in Japan in 2016. He is the most experienced pitcher when it comes to save situations on the Marlins’ roster, converting 15 of 27 attempts.

“I think he’s just working through some things right now,” catcher Chad Wallach said. “He’s going to be great for us. It’s his first outings of the year. I know nobody with us here is worried about him. Just once he gets locked in, he’ll be great for us. We know that.”

The Marlins bullpen, with seven new faces from last season, has collectively gone through growing pains to start the season. Miami’s relief pitching corps have given up eight home runs already this season, the most in baseball. Bass, John Curtiss and Richard Bleier have each given up two. The home runs have accounted for 13 of the 21 runs charged to the Marlins’ bullpen in 28 innings so far this season.

“It seems like just about everyone has given one up,” Mattingly said.

Neidert’s first start

With the Marlins’ starting pitching depth thinning following arm injuries to Sixto Sanchez and Elieser Hernandez, right-handed pitcher prospect Nick Neidert made his first career MLB start on Thursday.

He held his own against a solid Mets lineup, holding them to one run over 4 1/3 innings. Neidert, the 12th-ranked prospect in the Marlins’ organization according to MLB Pipeline, struck out three and held the Mets to three hits but also gave up five walks (although none of those walks scored). His pitch count was high early, too, after needing 24 pitches to get out of the first inning.

“Nick for me was good,” Mattingly said, “but he was patchy.”

Neidert threw 85 pitches, 50 of which went for strikes. His four-seam fastball, which he threw 46 times, hit a career-high 94.5 mph and has six swings and misses. He also mixed in his slider (17 pitches, averaged 85.3 mph), changeup (15 pitches, averaged 84.2 mph) and curveball (seven pitches, averaged 74.5 mph).

Neidert’s assessment of his start?

“I thought it was a good outing,” he said. “I just had moments where I tried to pick at corners and I ended up walking guys. When I was in attack mode and being aggressive, it turned out really well. My goal every time is to put us in a position to win. Five walks isn’t great and I put myself in some bad situations there, but I was able to make pitches to get out of it.”

Neidert will most likely get at least a second start with the Marlins low on veteran pitchers. He would next be scheduled to pitch on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves.

Trevor Rogers’ follow-up

Trevor Rogers’ second start of the 2021 season is a return to the site where he made his MLB debut last year.

Rogers threw four shutout innings in that Aug. 25, 2020, game against the Mets, a 3-0 victory to close out a doubleheader. He struck out six, walked five and gave up just one hit on 87 pitches in an empty Citi Field.

What does he remember most about that game?

“A lot of jitters,” Rogers said, “ and a lot of cardboard cutouts.”

This time around, the cardboard cutouts will be replaced with fans — about 8,000 or so as the Mets initially limit capacity for home games.

He hopes he got the jitters out of the way in his first start of the season.

Rogers’ first inning of the 2021 season probably couldn’t have gone any worse. He walked four batters. He needed 38 pitches to get three outs and gave up three runs before that happened.

His next three innings on that Monday night against the St. Louis Cardinals served as a reminder of how good he can be.

The rookie cruised through scoreless second, third and fourth innings on a combined 39 pitches with improved command and a more aggressive attack.