Marlins vs. Giants series preview

All individual player stats updated entering games of June 10.

The San Francisco Giants will be heading down to Miami to face the Marlins. The four-game series will finish up a seven-game homestand for the Fish. While the Anniversary Weekend was fun, the Fish lost the series 2-1 to the Padres. They will need to take at least three games from the Giants to end this stand with a sense of accomplishment.

The Giants are coming off of two series wins, against both the Diamondbacks and the Nationals. The Giants are currently in a tie for second place in the National League West. They have been hot, currently rocking a 8-2 record in their last 10 games. A season removed from disappointing as one of the worst MLB teams, they are legitimately competitive again.

The Marlins, on the other hand, currently sit comfortably in last place of the National League East. They are 14 games out of the lead and owners of the NL’s worst run differential (minus-108). Despite a few positive developments, the Fish have not really been able to get a streak going.

The pitching matchups will be the most even thing in this series. Neither teams’ pitching has been very good. Caleb Smith, in particular, should have a good opportunity—he has a 2.90 earned run average at Marlins Park in 2018 and backs it up with strong peripherals (31.0 IP, 2 HR, 13 BB, 38 K).

One mystery going into this series is Madison Bumgarner. He had been on the disabled list all season and just made his first start back the other day. Bumgarner gave up two runs in six innings against the Diamondbacks. Unfortunately for the FIsh, he looked pretty close to his old, All-Star form.

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Fish have their own rotation reinforcement with Trevor Richards getting reacclimated after a minor league stint. He was called up to face the Cardinals last Thursday. Richards only lasted five-plus innings, but was dealing well in Triple-A before getting the opportunity. Hopefully any jitters are now gone and he can pitch to his potential.

The bullpens should play a big role throughout this series. Kyle Barraclough will continue closing. When leading late, expect Drew Steckenrider to set him up. The right-hander has quietly been on a stretch of nine straight scoreless appearances, lowering his earned run average from 5.85 to 4.18 in that time.

The Giants hitting has been producing greatly as of late. Shortstop Brandon Crawford is leading the charge, rising all the way to fourth place in the NL batting title race (.338 BA overall). Receiving an everyday opportunity after several dreadful seasons, this is the hottest that Pablo Sandoval has been in years. Andrew McCutchen is starting to finally get into a groove with his new team and journeyman Alen Hanson is proving to be useful in pinch-hitting situations.

The Giants have been able to deliver with runners in scoring position. They will pose a difficult challenge for the Marlins pitching staff.

On the Marlins side, Derek Dietrich leads the bunch. Like Crawford, he has been providing the lethal combination of on-base skills and hard contact. One concern, however, is that he’s likely to see a heavy dose of left-handed pitching in this series.

National League Rookie of the Year candidate Brian Anderson has also been killing it as of late. He is batting a healthy .480 average, including clutch moments with runners in scoring position. Anderson has become an important factor in the offense and will look to continue his hot streak.

Lewis Brinson is a few inches away from having big numbers right now—he has been driving the ball to the edge of the warning track recently, just missing home runs.

The Marlins offense as a whole is showing signs of life. There should be plenty of fireworks in this series coming up.