Phillies 8, Marlins 3; José Ureña pounded in worst road performance this season

José Ureña served up three home runs in a game for the first time in his career and the Marlins offense didn’t get much going, as they fell again to the Phillies on Saturday, 8-3. This five-game losing streak matches their longest of the season.

• José Ureña: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (84 pitches)
• Zach Eflin: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (85 pitches)

It was immediately apparent that Ureña was off his game. Nick Williams drew first blood with a three-run home run on a night when the right-hander showed no command.

Asdrúbal Cabrera and Carlos Santana would leave Citizens Bank Park themselves later on. In total, the Phillies had eight batted balls against Ureña that topped 100 mph exit velocity, per Baseball Savant. Almost all of the damage was done against fastballs.

The Marlins were being no-hit into the fifth inning. That’s when Justin Bour crushed a solo slot to center field. With good health down the stretch, he’s on pace to set a new career high in that category.

But any possibility of a big inning disappeared when Miguel Rojas grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. His 19 GIDP leads all National League players.

Rojas made amends in the top of the eighth, homering for the first time since May 20. Unfortunately, the game was well out of reach at that point.

In relief of Ureña, Jarlín Garcia made an important cameo. He was recalled to take Brad Ziegler’s roster spot after a couple months at Triple-A New Orleans. His two innings of work featured three strikeouts, but also a César Hernández bomb to left.

Down on the farm, Drew Rucinski (groin strain) began a rehab assignment with High-A Jupiter. Expect him back in the big leagues sometime next weekend (assuming no setbacks). Nick Neidert, frontrunner for Marlins Minor League Pitcher of the Year, shined with 13 strikeouts for Double-A Jacksonville.

Attempting to avoid the sweep, the Fish send Dan Straily to the mound on Sunday. He’s opposing Phillies ace Aaron Nola. First pitch approximately 1:35pm.

Courtesy of FanGraphs

Attendance: 35,194

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Matchup Summary

A great Trevor Richards outing got overshadowed by the Phillies’ superior late-inning execution. The Marlins dropped to 19 games below the .500 mark, matching their season-worst in that department.

An interesting note from radio broadcaster Glenn Geffner: the Brian Anderson/Isaac Galloway/Magneuris Sierra outfield is the first time since September 2010 that the Marlins have started rookies at each of those positions in the same game. Coming into this season, you figured Lewis Brinson would’ve been involved in ending that drought.

On the other side, Odúbel Herrera is conspicuously absent from the Philly lineup. Here’s a theory about that:

Hmmmm...

There’s no particular reason behind it, but the Marlins generally struggle to provide José Ureña with much run support. Zach Eflin stands in their way today. He impressed against the Fish back on May 1 (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 K). That was his first major league appearance of 2018 and he has stuck in the Phillies rotation ever since.

Eflin’s first pitch will be around 7:05pm.

Thread Question: Which Marlins starting pitcher do you trust the most right now to give the team a chance to win?