Marlins vs. Pirates Series Preview

The Miami Marlins head to the Steel City for a 4-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend. They’ll make a quick stop in Boston on Monday to make up the one game that was rained out last weekend, then finally head back home. Starling Marté returns to Pittsburgh, the place where he started his career and played for eight seasons. The Pirates are also expected to active their top prospect and the #9 prospect in MLB prior to Thursday’s game. Third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes has been on the injured list with a wrist injury he sustained in the second game of the season. The Marlins are likely to do the same with pitcher Elieser Hernández, who has been out with left biceps inflammation.

This series preview will give you all the details:

• Schedule, Watch, Listen
• Probable Pitchers
• Recent Lineups
• What To Watch For

Schedule, Watch, Listen

Thursday, June 3 at 7:05 pm

Friday, June 4 at 7:05 pm

Saturday, June 5 at 4:05 pm

Sunday, June 6 at 1:05 pm

• TV broadcast for all 4 games: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio broadcast for all 4 games: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Grid View

• Elieser Hernández, Marlins starting pitcher on Thursday Photo by Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
• Tyler Anderson, Pirates starting pitcher on Thursday Photo by Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports
• Cody Poteet, Marlins starting pitcher on Friday Photo by Paul Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports
• Mitch Keller, Pirates starting pitcher on Friday Photo by Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports
• Trevor Rogers, Marlins starting pitcher on Saturday Photo by Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports
• Chase De Jong, Pirates starting pitcher on Saturday Photo by Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports
• Sandy Alcantara, Marlins starting pitcher on Sunday Photo by Jim Rassol/USA TODAY Sports
• Chad Kuhl, Pirates starting pitcher on Sunday Photo by Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports

Probable Pitchers

Thursday: RHP Elieser Hernández vs. LHP Tyler Anderson

• Hernández (2020): 3.16 ERA, 1.013 WHIP, 33.3 K%, 50.0 HardHit% in 25.2 IP
• Anderson: 4.63 ERA, 1.207 WHIP, 23.3 K%, 40.1 HardHit% in 56.1 IP

Friday: RHP Cody Poteet vs. RHP Mitch Keller

• Poteet: 2.95 ERA, 0.844 WHIP, 23.2 K%, 37.3 HardHit% in 21.1 IP
• Keller: 6.54 ERA, 1.688 WHIP, 23.1 K%, 48.1 HardHit% in 42.2 IP

Saturday: LHP Trevor Rogers vs. RHP Chase De Jong

• Rogers: 1.87 ERA, 1.101 WHIP, 30.5 K%, 41.2 HardHit% in 62.2 IP
• De Jong: 1.80 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 25.0 K%, 38.5 HardHit% in 5.0 IP

Sunday: RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. RHP Chad Kuhl

• Alcantara: 3.68 ERA, 1.070 WHIP, 23.8 K%, 39.5 HardHit% in 71.0 IP
• Kuhl: 6.41 ERA, 1.729 WHIP, 20.0 K%, 31.6 HardHit% in 19.2 IP

Recent Lineups

FanGraphs.com

What to watch for on...

Thursday: Elieser Hernández returns!

• The last time we saw Hernández was in his first start of the season (April 3) where he was removed after just 2.1 innings with right biceps inflammation. Because he left his first start due to an injury, his 2020 statistics are listed above.
• 2020 was the best season of his short career. His strikeout rate was up and walked very few batters. Hernández features a fastball, slider, and changeup. It will be good to have him back on the mound and in the rotation moving forward.

Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/USA TODAY Sports

Friday: Top prospect Ke’Bryan Hayes.

• Hayes in 2020: Slashing in 24 games: .376/.442/.682 with an adjusted-OPS of 199 (100 is league average).
• The Pirates plan to activate Hayes, their top prospect, from the injured list prior to this series. His defense at third base is exceptional and his speed is above average. He was thought of as more of a hard-hitting contact hitter but has shown signs of increasing power. He’s going to be a fun guy to watch, but hopefully, for the Marlins’ sake, he doesn’t come out of the gates storming.

Saturday: Back-to-back NL Rookie of the Month winner Trevor Rogers.

• Rogers in May: 34.2 IP, 2.34 ERA, 1.183 WHIP, 29 H, 9 ER, 12 BB, 38 K, 2 HR.
• He has been absolutely dominant this season, earning him the NL Rookie of the Month for April and May. Manager Don Mattingly noted that consistency is the key. Rogers will look to keep the same intensity against the Pirates on Saturday in his first start in June.

Sunday: Can Sandy Alcantara steady himself?

• Alcantara’s last four starts: 21.1 IP, 5.91 ERA, 1.219 WHIP, 20 H, 14 ER, 6 BB, 20 K, 3 HR.
• After the worst outing of his career against the Dodgers on May 14, Alcantara had two great back-to-back outings against the Phillies. Against the Blue Jays on June 1, he was a bit shaky in the third inning, allowing a 3-run home run to the red-hot Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Can he settle down against the Pirates on Sunday?