Marlins vs. Pirates: Start time, how to watch, game thread and Fish Picks—September 5, 2019

Welcome to Thursday’s Marlins (49-89) vs. Pirates (61-78) game thread.

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Marlins Lineup

1. SS Jon Berti
2. 3B Starlin Castro
3. RF Garrett Cooper
4. 1B Neil Walker
5. C Jorge Alfaro
6. 2B Isan Díaz
7. LF Harold Ramirez
8. CF Magneuris Sierra
9. SP Elieser Hernandez (5.06 ERA, 5.78 FIP, 23.0 K%, 32.0 Hard Hit% in 69.1 IP)

Notes: With his pinch-hitting appearance last night, Tyler Heineman became the 48th Marlins player to take the field this season. The ultimate total is expected to be 49 (including bullpen arm Brian Moran). That’s more or less what the team has averaged throughout the last decade, further underscoring the importance of building organization depth...If Sierra expects to squeeze onto the 2020 Opening Day roster, he will need to make the most of these center field reps. The 23-year-old has the potential to be a plus defender there, but his effort and situational awareness must be consistent...The Marlins pitching staff enters this game with 75 hit by pitches allowed in 2019, only one away from matching the 2007 Marlins for a single-season franchise record. I mention this because Hernandez has 8 HBP this year, tied for the team lead.

Marlins Communications

Pirates Lineup

1. SS Kevin Newman
2. CF Bryan Reynolds
3. 3B Colin Moran
4. 1B Josh Bell
5. RF Melky Cabrera
6. LF Pablo Reyes
7. 2B Adam Frazier
8. C Elias Díaz
9. SP Dario Agrazal (4.50 ERA, 6.09 FIP, 11.5 K%, 26.9 Hard Hit% in 54.0 IP)

Notes: Agrazal is having a mediocre yet statistically fascinating rookie campaign. You may recall that he also faced the Marlins in his major league debut on June 15. The 24-year-old’s 5.7% swinging strike rate ranks dead last among all MLB pitchers with at least 50 innings this season. He locates a very high 46.1% of his pitches in the strike zone, but is also incredibly hittable when attempting to get opponents to chase—the gap between Agrazal’s 84.3 O-Contact% and MLB’s second-highest mark (Marco Gonzales, 77.0 O-Contact%) is the same as the gap between second-highest and 49th-highest.

Baseball Savant

How to watch/listen/follow

The game gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET. Watch on FOX Sports Florida and via MLB.TV or listen on 940 WINZ.

Fish Picks

Please comment below or tweet to @fishstripes with your picks for the following props. The contest locks at first pitch.

1. Which starting pitcher lasts longer? (Hernandez/Agrazal)
2. Over/Under 8.5 Marlins hits? (Over/Under)
3. Over/Under 15.5 total Marlins players used? (Over/Under)
4. Will there be any sacrifice flies? (Yes/No)
5. Who wins? (Marlins/Pirates)