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The Dodgers are in town
The Los Angeles Dodgers begin a three-game series with the Fish. The Dodgers (16-24 overall) have struggled as of late, but they did receive some good news as third baseman Justin Turner will be making his 2018 debut.
Wei-Yin Chen will be on the mound trying to keep the Dodgers offense quiet. However, he clearly hasn’t had his best stuff in the past two starts, allowing 13 runs over seven innings. Alex Wood will be starting for the Dodgers (0-3, 3.60 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10pm.
Brian Anderson or Caleb Smith?
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The Marlins have had their fair share of Rookie of the Year winners, and with such a young team and many rookies on the current roster, they've got a chance to add one more this season.
Smith has been the Marlins best pitcher in May. His 1-1 record doesn't reflect on how well he’s been pitching, with a great 1.64 ERA and team-leading strikeout total during the month.
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Brian Anderson was taken out of Sunday’s game, which might be his only misadventure this season. Anderson has been the Marlins most consistent rookie, providing great defense and much-needed offense. Anderson paces all rookies with 38 hits and is second in RBIs with 19.
With Smith and Anderson performing at this level to this point in the season, we can only hope they continue to improve for the rest of 2018 and their respective careers.
Merandy González pulled from start
.@Marlins No. 13 prospect RHP Merandy Gonzalez pulled from his start after 2 innings in Montgomery, made warm-up tosses for bot 3rd then exited with apparent injury. His line: 2.0 IP, 0R, 2H, 2BB, 0K, 45 pitches, 29 strikes. We’ll have update from manager Randy Ready postgame.
— Roger Hoover (@Roger_Hoover) May 15, 2018
González just returned to Double-A Jacksonville to continue developing as a starter after an extended stay in the Marlins bullpen. All was going smoothly...until he returned to the mound to pitch the third inning.
The Jumbo Shrimp clarified after the game that he was pulled for precautionary reasons after a blister problem was discovered.
On this date 25 years ago...
At Marlins Memories, Mike Ferguson continues his season-long “Marliniversary” celebration, remembering Ryan Bowen’s shutout from May 15 of the inaugural season.
Prospect of the Month
An easy choice for Fish on the Farm. Alex Carver gives you the play-by-play of Austin Dean’s pro career, leading up to his dominant April with the Jumbo Shrimp.
Useless home run sculpture
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The Marlins are in last place in the home run department, which isn't much of a surprise after they traded away Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton. That trio accounted for 114 long balls last season and the team lacks suitable replacements.
Through 22 games in Miami, the home run sculpture has only gone off 15 times this season, as noted by Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.
While we’re on the subject, is it time to say goodbye to the sculpture? Let us know in the comments.