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With the All-Star break right around the corner, the Miami Marlins are attempting to finish the first half strong. Here at Fish Stripes, we are attempting to bring you the best news, analysis and highlights for the week regarding your Marlins!
Marlins Game Recaps
The Marlins lost the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies, got swept on the road against the Washington Nationals and split the first two games between the Atlanta Braves. For the week, the Marlins went 1-5 and are 33-54 overall for the season.
June 30—Phillies 13, Marlins 6; Trevor Richards got the start looking to help secure the sweep against the Phillies. He suffered the loss, going five innings and allowing three runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The Marlins produced six runs on 10 hits with Curtis Granderson, Brian Anderson and Jorge Alfaro getting multiple hits each.
July 2—Nationals 3, Marlins 2; Zac Gallen got the start against Washington in what was a rain-shortened outing with Gallen only going two innings allowing two runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Miami got two runs on seven hits with a Garrett Cooper RBI single and a Miguel Rojas sac fly but it was not enough to secure the win.
July 3—Nationals 3, Marlins 1; Sandy Alcantara got the ball against the Nationals throwing 5 1⁄3 innings allowing two runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. The Marlins could only produce one run on six hits with Cesar Puello getting an RBI hit by pitch in the ninth inning.
July 4—Nationals 5, Marlins 2; Elieser Hernandez took the mound and went 4 2⁄3 innings allowing three runs on five hits with one walk and six strikeouts. The Marlins got both runs courtesy of Miguel Rojas who had a solo HR and an RBI fielder’s choice.
July 5—Braves 1, Marlins 0; Jordan Yamamoto made the start for the Marlins and went six scoreless innings allowing two hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.
Lowest pre-All-Star break ERA in Marlins history (pitchers with more than 1 game started)
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) July 6, 2019
JORDAN YAMAMOTO, 1.24 (2019)
Josh Johnson, 1.64 (2011)
Josh Johnson, 1.70 (2010)
Kevin Brown, 1.89 (1996)
Dontrelle Willis, 2.08 (2003)
José Fernández, 2.08 (2015)
The Marlins got seven hits but could not produce a run with Neil Walker and Jorge Alfaro the only Marlins to get multiple hits.
July 6—Marlins 5, Braves 4; Caleb Smith made his return from the injured list and threw six innings allowing five hits, four runs (three earned) and one walk but with six strikeouts. The Marlins offense showed up as they got 15 hits and produced five runs with Harold Ramirez and Starlin Castro contributing a solo HR each and Yadiel Rivera getting a big 2-run hit.
All-Star Events and Memories
Cleveland’s Progressive Field hosts the All-Star festivities this year, beginning with the Futures Game on Sunday (televised on MLB Network and MLB.com). Marlins prospects Sixto Sanchez, Isan Diaz and Monte Harrison were each selected to participate.
Unfortunately, president of baseball operations Michael Hill has announced that Harrison will sit out with a wrist injury. He will head to South Florida instead to have a hand specialist evaluate him.
Meanwhile, Sandy Alcantara is a Miami’s major league All-Star! For the fifth time in their history, a Marlins rookie was selected for the Midsummer Classic. The 23-year-old Alcantara has been having a good season, going 4-8 in 17 starts with a 3.82 ERA.
Fish Stripes’ own Daniel Toll reviews the rich history of Marlins players and their greatest All-Star moments.
Top Draft Picks Still Unsigned
The Marlins signed four more 2019 draft picks this week, but many are wondering when fourth overall pick JJ Bleday and 35th pick Kameron Misner will join the organization. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports that the Marlins believe they will have no problem signing both of them prior to the July 12 deadline. The full article can be read here.
The latest: #Marlins encouraged with Bleday, Misner talks https://t.co/nKp2pbf3Wn #MLBDraft
— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) July 5, 2019
Marlins Aggressive on International Market
The 2019-20 signing period for international free agents opened on July 2, and the Marlins moved quickly to bolster one of the top farm systems in the league. The Marlins signed 11 players, three of which ranked among the top shortstop prospects available. Our own Luis Davila has more information on all the amateur players they’ve added so far.
We might be looking back on July 2, 2019 as one of the most important days of this Marlins rebuild. They hauled in 11 international amateur signings , including 3 of the best shortstops available. https://t.co/hL9tuRttT1
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) July 3, 2019
Charles Johnson Endorses Direction of Rebuild
Former Florida Marlins catcher Charles Johnson feels Derek Jeter is rebuilding the Marlins the right way. Johnson has seen first-hand the ups and downs that the franchise has experienced. He likes seeing them doing such a thorough job, hopefully escaping the vicious cycle of having to tear down a team every couple of years and start again. The full article by David Furones of the Sun Sentinel can be read here.
Potential Goals for the Second Half
After a franchise-worst 10-31 start, the Marlins have played better baseball since, winning half of their games. Andre Fernandez of The Athletic previews the rest of the 2019 season (subscription required) and which specific players and trends fans should focus on.
Podcast Episodes
The Fish Stripes podcast is home to Miami Marlins shows Fish Bites, Earning Their Stripes and A-Ball with Erik Oas. All new episodes are posted to FishStripes.com/podcasts. You can also find them on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods.
Here is to hoping the second half of the season is better than the 1st for the Marlins. Stick to Fish Stripes for all your Marlins news, analysis and highlights!