Marlins Defeat the Dodgers, 3-2

Giving that the Marlins came into tonight’s game on a five game losing streak, and would have to face Clayton Kershaw in a late afternoon game tomorrow, it seemed imperative that they come out strong and win against Kenta Maeda tonight. Thanks to the veterans in the lineup, and a strong start by Dillon Peters, the Fish would answer the call, and defeat the Dodgers 3-2 in thrilling, come back fashion.

Dillon Peters entered tonight having a 1.50 ERA at home, and a 15.95 ERA on the road. He would have to show up and prove himself capable of shutting down a tough lineup in an opposing ball park. With Straily and Chen making rehab starts, his position on the major league roster may be in jeopardy as well.

In the bottom of the second, Austin Barnes hit an opposite field double off of Peters to put the Dodgers up 1-0.

J.T. Realmuto, who has hit in all 18 games he has played against the Dodgers, hit a third inning shot over the right-center field fence to tie the game up. It was Realmuto’s second long ball of the year, and the first home run Maeda has given up this season.

Peters settled down, hitting his spots and getting his off-speed pitches over for strikes, and kept the Los Angeles lineup off balance all evening. He ended up tossing 5.1 innings, giving up only the one run on four hits, while walking one and fanning four.

However, the Dodgers would take the lead off the Miami bullpen in the bottom of the seventh on a bases loaded walk to Chase Utley by fireballer, Tayron Guerrero.

Trailing 2-1, why would one be optimistic for a Marlins comeback? Well, in the eighth, a clutch two-out double by Starlin Castro would score Derek Dietrich to tie it up.

Then, in the ninth, a lead off single by Brian Anderson was followed by a double from veteran Cameron Maybin to score Anderson and give the Fish a 3-2 lead.

Brad Ziegler came in and set down the Dodgers in order to capture the win for Miami. The Fish would snap their five game losing streak, and improve to a modest 6-17 on the season.

The Marlins finish the three game set with Los Angeles Wednesday at 7:35 ET, with Trevor Richards getting the nod against Clayton Kershaw.

FanGraphs

King Fish and Turning Point: Cameron Maybin with the go-ahead double in the ninth

Flounder: The Dodgers bullpen for coughing up the lead

Attendance: 39,284

Please leave any Itchy picks in the comments below (explainer).

Matchup Summary

The Marlins look to Dillon Peters to try to end their five game losing streak, and to improve on their 1-6 road trip. The Marlins need to hit the ball better, and given their somewhat thin lineup, that has been a tall order. After being shut down by Walker Buehler last night, the Fish will face Kenta Meada tonight to try to change their fate.

Meanwhile, Dillon Peters looks to be either heading to the bullpen and back to Triple-A unless he has a stellar outing or two, particularly with Dan Straily and Wei-Yin Chen on their way back to the bigs.

Thread Question

Who do you think are the top three Marlins relievers? Rank them No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3.