Marlins vs. Padres: Game 128 Thread

Familiar faces in new places will be the main storyline on Friday night at Marlins Park when the Marlins play host to the San Diego Padres in a three-game weekend series. Jarred Cosart will take the mound on Friday evening, but in a different uniform. Cosart returns to Miami for the first time since being traded by the Marlins on July 29. Cosart will be on the mound at Marlins Park for the first time since July 25, and it seems like the traded to San Diego has worked out for him.

After a turbulent first half of the season, which saw him mostly pitching in the minors, Cosart has revived his career with the Padres. In his last three starts, Cosart has a 3.78 ERA, and he’s walked just four batters in 16 2/3 innings pitched. Cosart was traded to San Diego in a trade that saw Andrew Cashner traded to the Marlins. Cashner will make his first start against his former team on Sunday afternoon. These two squads will be meeting for the second time this season, with the first meeting coming in San Diego in June.

The Marlins took two of three games from the Padres in that series, including one game where they scored a season-high 13 runs. The Marlins will send David Phelps to the mound tonight, and he’s been fantastic this season for Miami. Phelps was forced to move to the starting rotation since Miami has lost pitchers like Wei-Yin Chen and Adam Conley to the disabled list.

Phelps has made a seamless transition from the bullpen, as he’s posted a 1.31 ERA in his first four starts. Phelps has only allowed batters to have a .192 batting average and a .550 OPS. The Marlins (66-61) are in need victories since they enter this series 1.5 games back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the second NL Wild Card. The Padres (53-74) have had a dreadful season, as they are just looking to build towards the future. The Marlins offense has been struggling mightily, as they enter tonight’s game having scored three of fewer runs in five straight games.