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A win Wednesday night would give the Miami Marlins a series victory against the Milwaukee Brewers, and their third in as many tries.
Coming off a 6-4 win on Tuesday, the Fish are winners in six of their last eight games and are aiming to continue their nice streak right before the possible returns of ace Jose Fernandez and slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
Pitching Matchup
Record | ERA | Games Started | Marlins | Brewers | Games Started | ERA | Record |
8-13 | 4.08 | 26 | Koehler | Peña | 0 | 6.00 | 1-0 |
Right-handed starter Tom Koehler gets the nod as he aims to push his streak of six-inning outings to four. Furthermore, Koehler looks for just his second win in his last 12 appearances. The 18th-round pick out of the Bronx hasn't won a start since throwing seven shutout innings against the Padres back on July 23.
On the other side, 26-year-old Ariel Peña makes his first Major League start. Peña made his big league debut on Saturday in a win against the Reds. The Dominican-born righty allowed two runs in three innings of relief work.
Batting out of the number seven spot, shortstop Jean Segura is a combined 5-for-10 with two runs scored through the first two games of the series. Meanwhile, Peña will be making just his second MLB plate appearance when he steps into the box for the first time Wednesday.
For the Fish, lead-off man Dee Gordon has crawled just three points shy of young slugger Bryce Harper for the National League lead in batting average (.330) heading into Wednesday's play. He is three for his last eight, and nabbed his 49th and 50th stolen bases during Tuesday's contest (2nd in the majors behind Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton).
Notes
- The Marlins seem to do most of their offensive damage early in the game when pitchers haven't quite settled in yet. Wednesday night should be no different as the Fish will need to get to the young Peña as soon as possible.
- J.T. Realmuto is back in the starting lineup for the Marlins after providing an offensive spark with a pair of solo home runs (one an inside-the-parker) in Tuesday's contest
Bold Prediction: Marlins win big 8-3.