Current Series
4 game series vs Giants @ Marlins Park
| Thu 05/24 | WP: Ryan Vogelsong (3 - 2) LP: Anibal Sanchez (2 - 3) | 7 - 14 loss |
| Fri 05/25 | WP: Dan Jennings (1 - 0) SV: Steve Cishek LP: Tim Lincecum (2 - 5) | 7 - 6 win |
San Francisco Giants Saturday, May 26, 2012, 4:10 PM EDT Madison Bumgarner vs Mark Buehrle Partly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing from left to right field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 85.
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| Sun 05/27 | 1:10 PM EDT | |
The Miami Marlins came away with a comeback 7-6 victory last night after some clutch hitting and a big sixth inning. That was the club's 17th win of the month, and the Marlins will continue their winning ways as they entertain the San Francisco Giants for the third game of their four-game set. Today's pitching matchup includes two very difficult lefty starters, one young and entering the prime of what should be a great career versus a wily ageless veteran. Given the identities of the two teams, it is ironic which one pitches for which club.
Pitching Matchup
| Proj Win% | Proj ERA | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Giants | ERA | FIP | Proj ERA | Proj Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .521 | 3.78 | 4.02 | 3.36 | Buehrle | Bumgarner | 2.85 | 3.82 | 3.70 | .531 |
Mark Buehrle has struggled in his last two starts in terms of runs, but he was an important contributor to two victories despite those struggles. Two starts ago, he pitched well against the Atlanta Braves and ran into one ugly inning before being lifted earlier than usual. In his last start, he did the opposite, coughing up an early four-run lead to the Colorado Rockies that was eventually erased by the Marlins. In that case, Buehrle did well to limit the early damage by shutting down the Rockies afterwards. Now he goes up against what has suddenly turned into a fiery hot San Francisco lineup that the Marlins have yet to find a good answer to.
Madison Bumgarner has been spectacular this year, as evidenced by his low ERA. However, in two of his last three starts, he has given up four or more runs, though his last start against the Milwaukee Brewers went swimmingly to the tune of 10 strikeouts in almost eight innings with only three runs allowed. Bumgarner's strikeouts have dropped in 2012, but so have his walks, so there is some semblance of evenness in that respect. He will take his lefty stroke against a Marlins lineup that has hit mostly well during the home stand.
Lineup
| Order | Player | Proj wOBA vs. LHP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Reyes | .350 |
| 2 | Omar Infante | .331 |
| 3 | Hanley Ramirez | .369 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Stanton | .394 |
| 5 | Logan Morrison | .337 |
| 6 | Donovan Solano | --- |
| 7 | Chris Coghlan | .288 |
| 8 | John Buck | .320 |
The Marlins welcome Donovan Solano to his first big league start of his career, as the right hander will play left field against the lefty Bumgarner. The team kept Chris Coghlan in the lineup, likely in small part due to this clutch three-run home run in last night's game. I personally would prefer to see Bryan Petersen, but since Petey has played so many games due to the team's injuries, this is an understandable replacement.
Bold Prediction: Giants def. Marlins 4-1