Marlins vs. Phillies series preview

Individual player stats updated entering games of April 29.

The Philadelphia Phillies will be coming to town to face the Miami Marlins, which will finish up a six-game homestand. The last time these two teams met, the Phillies took two out of three games from the Fish. Last series also had the very memorable/forgettable game in which the Marlins were killed 20-1. The Marlins look to erase all that with this upcoming series.

The Phillies started off the season, hot but recently have been losing some steam. They are 2-4 in their last six games. The backend of their pitching rotation has not been successful as of late. Their hitting is still there, but not like at the start of the season.

The Marlins, on the other hand, have won their last two series. The pitching has impressed, with the bullpen also contributing as well. The hitting leaves more to be desired, but at this point, a win is a win. Taking two out of three from the Dodgers and Rockies was no easy feat. The Marlins will look to capitalize on the returns of Dan Straily and Martín Prado.

The top pitchers from each team will appear throughout the series. Jake Arrieta will start game one for the Phils. They signed him during the offseason to a three-year, $75 million contract. This was a huge addition for the rebuilding Phils and is already paying off. His numbers are spectacular and he will definitely give Miami a hard time.

Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

The Marlins have Dan Straily pitching in his first start of the season. He has been sidelined with a right forearm strain and his return should give the Marlins a nice boost. While his numbers last year were nothing special, the inexperienced rotation will be better with him. Straily has no easy task in this matchup and it will be interesting to see if he can give some length.

Game two will see Jarlin the Marlin oppose Zach Eflin. Jarlin García has been on an absolute tear, running through batters like a warm knife through butter. There has been much talk on whether he can continue this hot streak. The last time he saw the Phils, they tagged him for two runs over four innings. Eflin will more than likely be called up to fill in for Ben Lively (10-day DL due to back issue). This should be a prime matchup for the Fish with their best pitcher going.

The final game of the series will see Aaron Nola going up against José Ureña. Ureña has had some tough-luck losses in the past and will need to be sharp against the Phils. Nola has been pitching well, allowing fewer than one baserunner per inning. These pitching matchups should be very entertaining.

Miami’s offensive production continues to be an interesting topic. Since coming back from injury, J.T. Realmuto has been the best bat in the lineup. Unfortunately, the hitters around him have not elevated with him. Lewis Brinson continues to struggle and could possibly be sent down to give him a change of pace. We all knew the Marlins would not be a power heavy team this year, but the one player who could help supply that need has been sidelined with back spasms. Justin Bour is day to day and hopefully doesn’t require any time on the disabled list.

Starlin Castro has been hitting well recently, but it has not translated into much run production. Derek Dietrich continues to be good for a home run here and there, but besides that there is not much to him right now. The bottom of the Marlins lineup will have to start picking it up for the Fish to do well.

Philadelphia batters have been making a lot of contact recently. The top five contributors all have averages well above .300. The power has been spread out a bit more compared to the Marlins. Rhys Hoskins has not hit a home run in the last week, but others have picked up the slack. The Phils have also been hitting well with runners on base. Every inning, there’s the potential for them to put up a crooked number.

The games for this series will be on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, all starting at 7:10pm.

Let’s go Fish!