It was just last Saturday that Rockies starter Chris Rusin dominated the Marlins for seven innings in Colorado. Fast-forward to Thursday night in Miami, and this time it was the Marlins that got the last laugh.
Rusin struggled in the re-match on Thursday, allowing six runs on 11 hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one, needing 105 pitches to complete his outing.
The left-hander got into early trouble when he gave up a three-run home run to Giancarlo Stanton in the first inning. The Marlins tacked on two more in the second, and Jeff Baker added one more on a solo home run in the fifth inning.
Rusin (2-1) had given up just four runs over three starts prior to Thursday. But after this poor performance, his ERA ballooned from 1.45 to 3.38.
"I just didn't hit my spots," Rusin said, per MLB.com. "The ball was up this time. Not like last time where I kept the ball down with movement. Today, I didn't. Left my pitches up, fell behind early, and I had to force myself to throw strikes. Got hurt with a couple of them, especially falling behind early and walking some guys in the first inning to get to Stanton. That's not what you want to do. I found that out."
He'll look to get back on track in his next start, scheduled for Tuesday against the Astros in Houston.