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Source: FanGraphs
Miami Loses Seventh Straight
This was the Marlins' seventh loss in a row. They are now 7-16 in the month of September and 66-90 on the season. Sure, the Marlins have shown signs of improvement in the last month especially from their younger players, but they are still losing games at a rate that has to be extremely embarrassing for the franchise. Miami only has six games left, so seeing some of the rookies step up and lead the team to a couple of well-needed victories would end the season on a positive note.
Jacob Turner Looks Solid
Marlins' rookie Jacob Turner pitched six effective innings on Thursday, allowing six hits, four runs (two earned), three walks and striking out five. The costly fourth-inning error that allowed two unearned runs to score happened when Bryan Peterson dropped a fairly routine flyout off the bat of Martin Prado. Turner generated nine groundouts, which seemed very impressive playing against a motivated Atlanta team.
In his last three starts, Turner has pitched eighteen innings and only given up five earned runs. His ability to keep the ball down in the zone has really benefitted him, as evidenced by his abundance of outs via the groundball. Another visible factor that has contributed to Turner's success has been his confidence. He is no longer as reliant on his fastball compared to when he first got promoted.
With his recent performances, Turner has pretty much guaranteed himself a spot in the Marlins' rotation for next season.
Chipper Jones Plays His Final Game Against the Marlins
Today was the final game Chipper Jones will ever play against Miami barring Jones pulling a Brett Favre. Chipper Jones has always been one of my favorite players in the game (except when he's playing the Marlins, of course) and he deserves a ton of credit for leading multiple winning baseball teams in Atlanta. I'm sure Marlins' fans will be glad to see Braves' teams without Chipper. After all, he hit .298/.294/.503 in 1024 career plate appearances against the Marlins. Best of luck to Chipper in whatever he chooses to do after his playing career in complete.