Current Series
3 game series vs Cardinals @ Busch Stadium
| Fri 07/06 | WP: Ricky Nolasco (8 - 6) SV: Heath Bell LP: Jake Westbrook (7 - 7) | 3 - 2 win |
| Sat 07/07 | WP: Kyle Lohse (9 - 2) SV: Jason Motte LP: Carlos Zambrano (4 - 7) | 2 - 3 loss |
Miami Marlins Sunday, Jul 8, 2012, 2:15 PM EDT Anibal Sanchez vs Joe Kelly Partly cloudy,rain. Winds blowing in from center field at 5-10 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 95.
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The Miami Marlins are looking to take the last game of the series and secure a series win to finish off the first half of the season. The Fish have no chance at a .500 record heading into the All-Star break, but it would be nice for the team to finish up on a positive note and get back into a run of winning series after the rough June. Standing in their way is Joe Kelly of the St. Louis Cardinals, who had a decent start against the Fish last time out but who also ended up yielding the only game the Marlins won in the three-game set in June.
Pitching Matchup
| Proj Win% | Proj ERA | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Cardinals | ERA | FIP | Proj ERA | Proj Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .522 | 3.77 | 3.51 | 4.19 | Sanchez | Kelly | 3.29 | 4.42 | 5.80 | .321 |
Anibal Sanchez had one of the roughest months of his career and continued his poor performance through his first start. At the very least, his last start included six strikeouts and no walks, though it also involved a home run. He was particularly hittable last time around, but his stuff is still present, so we should expect him to do a little better than his most recent stint. It has just been difficult to watch him struggle thus far in this past month, but better times are definitely ahead.
Joe Kelly had a good start versus the Marlins the last time out, allowing two runs in six innings with three strikeouts and two walks. Still, the Fish were able to score enough to keep the game close and eventually pull it out versus the Cardinals' struggling bullpen. Nevertheless, Kelly has outperformed expectations this season and he looks exactly like every other Cardinals starter.
Lineup
| Order | Player | Proj wOBA vs. RHP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jose Reyes | .349 |
| 2 | Hanley Ramirez | .346 |
| 3 | Carlos Lee | .322 |
| 4 | Logan Morrison | .349 |
| 5 | Justin Ruggiano | .312 |
| 6 | Greg Dobbs | .289 |
| 7 | Omar Infante | .313 |
| 8 | John Buck | .293 |
This is the first official lineup without Giancarlo Stanton for an extended period of time, as we found out that he had knee surgery today and is going to be out four to six weeks. Hopefully Justin Ruggiano can make us look good.
Bold Prediction: Marlins def. Cardinals 5-3