The Miami Marlins suffered another horrific loss last night that was only compounded by the fact that the rain delay sucked any remaining life out of the game. It is bad when you're hoping they rainout and call a 4-1 game because the team's offense is so shot that there is little confidence it can bounce back from such a deficit.
Tonight, the Marlins take the field again in the hopes of mustering up enough offense to win a game against newly acquired pitcher Ben Sheets. The Marlins will send out Wade Leblanc on his first start of 2012 to counter Sheets.
Pitching Matchup
Proj Win% | Proj ERA | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Braves | ERA | FIP | Proj ERA | Proj Win% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.450 | 4.40 | 3.21 | 1.15 | Leblanc | Sheets | 0.50 | 2.25 | 3.75 | .524 |
Wade Leblanc makes his first start of the 2012 season after coming over from the San Diego Padres. He is a decent pitcher, but a classically flawed one; he is a guy who does not get strikeouts, walks a decent amount of guys, but allows likely too many homers due to his massive fly ball rate (43 percent career versus a career 34 percent ground ball rate). He is likely nothing more than a sixth starter, but his performance in Spring Training and in Triple-A has earned himself a look. Can't be much worse than what Carlos Zambrano has been doing lately.
Yes, Ben Sheets's ERA is 0.50. Yes, that's crazy. It turns out the Braves' move to gamble on Sheets was a damn good one, as he appears to be back and in good form after a year out of the league rehabbing his injuries. That can't bode well for a hapless Marlins lineup.
Lineup
Order | Player | Proj wOBA vs. RHP |
---|---|---|
1 | Emilio Bonifacio | .307 |
2 | Donnie Murphy | .287 |
3 | Jose Reyes | .349 |
4 | Carlos Lee | .322 |
5 | Greg Dobbs | .290 |
6 | Bryan Petersen | .314 |
7 | John Buck | .293 |
8 | Scott Cousins | .284 |
Ugh, this lineup.
Bold Prediction: Braves def. Marlins 5-1