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The Fish are on a roll headed into the All-Star break and will look to match their season high winning streak with five wins in a row for the first time since all the way back on April 26th. Clayton Richard will declare independence for the Cubs while Jarred Cosart defies tyranny for the Marlins.
Pitching Matchup
| K/BB | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Cubs | ERA | FIP | K/BB |
| 1.59 | 4.57 | 4.12 | Cosart | Richard | - | - | - |
Richard will be making his 2015 season debut today. He has not pitched in the majors since 2013 with the Padres, and had been working his way back from injury in the Pirates minor league system until he was traded for cash to the Cubs to make this very start. Hard to say what we'll see from a guy coming off of shoulder surgery, but prior to the injury he utilized a five pitch repertoire and typically got his fastball up to 91 MPH with a good 5-6 MPH difference between four-seamer and change-up, and even more between said fastball and his breaking pitches.
Cosart made his first appearance since his mid-May DL stint as a reliever six days ago against the Reds. He ended up working four innings, giving up two runs on six hits, walking three and striking out three. Cosart's reliever days were short-lived as he appears to have been re-inserted in the rotation at the expense of David Phelps. With Henderson Alvarez due back in a few weeks he will, of course, have to pitch well to maintain his rotation spot, though a trade of one or both of Dan Haren and Mat Latos could make the point moot.
Jeff Baker gets the start at 1st against the lefty at will bat fourth. Miguel Rojas is again in the line-up at 3rd base, Marcell Ozuna is back after having the day off yesterday in center and Cole Gillespie will spell Ichiro in right field and bat 8th.
Notes:
- Justin Bour has responded to Morse's imminent return exactly how you would want any position player to respond to a challenge to their job security, and that is by going on an epic homerun tear. Bour would be the first Marlin in history to homer in five straight games if he were to do so today.
- Happy Fourth of July wherever you may be! Please celebrate responsibly.