Marlins links, 9/4/18: Ureña spectacular, final 2018 minor league report, Loria’s mistakes haunt the Marlins

Miami takes Game 1 from Phils

José Ureña is a different pitcher as of late, having given up only six runs over 22 innings of work. He’s 2-1 during this streak. After the fiasco that was the Ronald Acuña Jr. situation Ureña has pitched much like the ace the Marlins were expecting him to be. In yesterday's game, Ureña allowed one run over seven innings with seven strikeouts. He also didn't walk a batter (it’s only the third time this season across 27 starts). Ureña’s only mistake came in the second inning when he gave up an Asdrúbal Cabrera home run.

Besides Ureña, Rafael Ortega was the Marlins’ best player. He drove in two runs with a single in the second inning and made a spectacular catch in right field in the sixth inning.

Fish Stripes original GIF

Lewis Brinson has been quietly effective since returning from the DL. He drove in Monday’s first run with a single up the middle and is 5-for-10 overall with the Marlins in September.

With some quality pitching and timely hits, the Marlins came away with 3-1 victory.

Final farm report

Andrew completes his 2018 minor league recap series with stats and notes on top Marlins prospects at full-season affiliates.

Triple-A New Orleans, Double-A Jacksonville and Low-A Greensboro each played their final games on Labor Day. None of them qualified for the postseason.

Playing the role of spoiler

Although the Marlins are out of the playoffs, that doesn’t mean they won't be playing to win. David Levin of Marlin Maniac discusses Don Mattingly’s approach to the final games of the season. The Marlins face the Phillies and Nationals five more times before season’s end and during every single game, Mattingly will go with his best lineup.

The national media may have written the Marlins off, but with a few timely victories, they can switch the tide of some playoff races.

Loria and company’s mistakes still haunt the Marlins

Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images

The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel most recent article profiles a former Marlins pitching prospect and how he came to be a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the pitcher he is today.

In 2015, Trevor Williams was pitching for the AA and AAA Marlins affiliates when he was traded to the Pirates for a front office guy by the the name of Jim Benedict (no, I’m not kidding). At the time, Williams was the Marlins sixth-best prospect. Benedict was supposed to be some pitching guru, but he had no success with the Marlins and was fired when Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter took over the team.

In his third major league season, Trevor Williams is 12-9 with a 3.15 ERA, which would've easily made him the Marlins best starting pitcher.

Jeffrey Loria and David Samson were a cancer to the Miami Marlins and the South Florida community. It’s easy to condemn the moves Jeter has made during his short stint, but let’s not forget how terrible decision-making put them in this position.

Game 2 upcoming

Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images

Trevor Richards (3-7, 4.26 ERA) will be on the mound for the middle game of this three-game series. Richards has been the Marlins most surprising rookie pitcher. He was pitching in the independent leagues two years ago and now finds himself striking out the MLB’s best on a regular basis.

Jake Arrieta (9-9, 3.54) will be pitching for Philadelphia, looking to even the series.

First pitch is at 7:10p.m.