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DOMINATING. This perfectly captures the defeat the Noles delivered to the Canes right from the opening pitch to the sixth and final home run in the seventh inning. In a decisive performance, the Noles dominated the game, finishing it in just seven innings and securing a commanding victory with a final score of 14-1.
Nothing positive can be said about the opening game. JD stubbornly opted to start Nick Robert yet again despite the clear evidence that he is not suited for the Friday starter role—something JD still fails to acknowledge. This marks his third consecutive loss, allowing multiple home runs and not making it past the fourth inning tonight. He led the team with seven home runs and added two more this game. The bullpen also faltered, unable to contain the barrage of hits and runs, as DeRias and Evans both added a pair of home runs to the tally.
Regarding our offense, there was none. In contrast to the 14 hits put up by the Noles, we only managed two; both came in the third inning. Again, second-guessing some of JD’s reasoning, I don’t fully understand why JD decided to move Fabio back to batting 8th based on his performance on Tuesday against FAU. He is one of the few on the team who can bunt, get on base, and steal. With Ogden leading off and Cuvet batting third, having Fabio in the second slot seems like the perfect one-two-three punch. Dorian is still in a slump, possibly batting after Marsh and moving Smith to 8th. JD might need to move away from his left/right theory in batting because it obviously isn’t working right now. Place your best hitters where they belong, regardless of which side of the plate they bat from. This may not work, but it’s worth a try. We can’t do any worse than what we’ve been doing.
The fourth inning may not show on the scorecard, but it was undeniably a significant defensive error. Robert, having already thrown 62 pitches, was clearly past his effective limit. While he recorded six strikeouts earlier, those accomplishments were overshadowed by the two home runs he allowed in the first inning, which is a troubling trend for him. He handled the pressure well in the following two innings, notching two strikeouts in each. However, during the fourth inning, disaster struck, largely due to defensive mistakes. He should have completed the inning, allowing just one run, but Cuvet mishandled a perfect throw from Galvin—an error that cost them the third out. This mistake resulted in three extra runs, compounded by another error from Dorian that allowed for one more run. What should have been a one-run inning escalated into a five-run disaster.
Despite all the negativity this game generated, the one bright spot was Fabio Peralta’s first home run of his career. At least the pain lasted only two hours and ten minutes. Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully, Miami can deliver a better performance than the lopsided match we saw tonight. The start time is one hour later, at 8:00 PM.
