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Game Thread 148: Marlins at Phillies

The Fish turn to their MLB-worst bullpen to spoil the Phillies’ playoff hopes.

By Ely Sussman
MLB: Miami Marlins at Philadelphia Phillies
Let’s get Bryan Holaday’s arm some rest with a mildly competitive game, please.
Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Please leave any Icthy picks in the comments below. Remember, we introduced a new grand prize for the contest this season.

9/15/18 Probable Starters

Name Team IP ERA FIP K% fWAR
Name Team IP ERA FIP K% fWAR
Jarlin García Marlins 62.1 5.05 6.41 15.2% -1.2
Vince Velasquez Phillies 138.0 4.30 3.71 26.0% 2.6
FanGraphs

Today's Lineups

MARLINS PHILLIES
JT Riddle - SS Cesar Hernandez - 2B
Miguel Rojas - 3B Rhys Hoskins - 1B
J.T. Realmuto - C Jose Bautista - RF
Starlin Castro - 2B Wilson Ramos - C
Derek Dietrich - 1B Carlos Santana - 3B
Lewis Brinson - CF Aaron Altherr - LF
Austin Dean - LF Roman Quinn - CF
Magneuris Sierra - RF Scott Kingery - SS
Jarlin Garcia - LHP Vince Velasquez - RHP

Matchup Summary

The Phillies are still clinging to life on the periphery of the crowded NL Wild Card race. They can thank the Marlins for that. Despite struggles against the other NL East teams, Gabe Kapler’s squad clinched the season series over the Fish on Friday night with an emphatic blowout win.

Wei-Yin Chen continues to be completely unplayable on the road. The veteran left-hander was once again homer-prone and unable to miss bats.

But Saturday is a brand new day...right?

Not really: Miami’s scheduled starter Jarlin García has been equally perplexing. The April sensation fails to inspire any confidence, allow opposing batters to feast—.357/.404/.714 slash line—since being removed from the major league rotation. The Marlins have gone 2-13 overall in those appearances.

García spent much of the summer at Triple-A New Orleans. Since being recalled in early August, his longest outing has been just two innings, so the expectation is for him to make it once through the Phillies lineup. The Marlins put backup catcher Bryan Holaday on the mound in the eighth inning on Friday to preserve as many relief options as possible for this game.

Vince Velasquez is in uncharted territory, pitching more often in 2018 than any of his prior professional seasons. The workload appears to be taking its toll—Velazquez hasn’t stayed in past the fifth inning in any of his past six starts (6.66 ERA in 24.1 IP).

After piling on 14 runs in the series opener, the Phillies are unsurprising using the same eight position players in Saturday’s lineup. That does not include old friend Justin Bour, who has only 36 plate appearances in 36 days since the trade (.242/.306/.394). He could see yet another change of scenery in the offseason.

Not the sexiest college football schedule this week, so why don’t you stick around for this? (Or multi-task!) First pitch at 7:05 p.m.

Thread Question: Aside from Holaday, what other position players on the Marlins roster would be decent emergency pitching options?

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