April 14-17: Phillies vs. Marlins Series Preview

Five games into the 2022 season, the Miami Marlins’ offense is already in mediocre, mid-season form. Marlins hitters are slashing .199/.264/.313 and have struck out more than a quarter of the time. Right now is as good a time as ever to wake up the bats, entering an extra-long series against an NL East rival at LoanDepot Park. First pitch of tonight’s home opener vs. the Phillies is scheduled for 6:40 pm. I hope to see you there!

• Schedule, Watch, Listen
• Probable Pitchers
• Recent Lineups
• What To Watch For
• Poll: How Will This Series Play Out?

Schedule, Watch, Listen

Thursday, April 14 at 6:40 pm

Friday, April 15 at 6:40 pm

Saturday, April 16 at 6:10 pm

Sunday, April 17 at 1:40 pm

• TV broadcast for all 4 games: Bally Sports Florida (Paul Severino and J.P. Arencibia)
• Radio broadcast for all 4 games: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Grid View

• Kyle Gibson, Phillies’ starting pitcher on Thursday Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
• Sandy Alcantara, Marlins’ starting pitcher on Thursday Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
• Zach Eflin, Phillies’ starting pitcher on Friday Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
• Pablo López, Marlins’ starting pitcher on Friday Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
• Ranger Suárez, Phillies’ starting pitcher on Saturday Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
• Trevor Rogers, Marlins’ starting pitcher on Saturday Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
• Zack Wheeler, Phillies’ starting pitcher on Sunday Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images
• Elieser Hernandez, Marlins’ starting pitcher on Sunday Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

Probable Pitchers

Thursday: RHP Kyle Gibson vs. RHP Sandy Alcantara

• Gibson (2021): 3.71 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 20.6 K%, 26.8 HardContact% in 182.0 IP
• Alcantara (2021): 3.19 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 24.0 K%, 27.2 HardContact% in 205.2 IP

Friday: RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP Pablo López

• Eflin (2021): 4.17 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 22.4 K%, 28.6 HardContact% in 105.2 IP
• López (2021): 3.07 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 27.5 K%, 21.6 HardContact% in 102.2 IP

Saturday: LHP Ranger Suárez vs. LHP Trevor Rogers

• Suárez (2021): 1.36 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 25.6 K%, 20.4 HardContact% in 106.0 IP
• Rogers (2021): 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 28.5 K%, 22.5 HardContact% in 133.0 IP

Sunday: RHP Zack Wheeler vs. RHP Elieser Hernandez

• Wheeler (2021): 2.78 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 29.1 K%, 18.3 HardContact% in 213.1 IP
• Hernandez (2021): 4.18 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 23.6 K%, 27.2 HardContact% in 51.2 IP

Projected Lineups

Roster Resource / FanGraphs

Roster Resource / FanGraphs

What to watch for on...

Thursday: The Marlins will come out strong in front of their hometown fans.

• This isn’t analysis, just me speaking it into existence.
• I spent the other night arguing with my family about how many people usually show up to Opening Day at Marlins/LoanDepot Park. Call me cynical, but I didn’t think the average home opener attendance was over 25,000. But I’ll admit it: I was wrong. From 2012 to 2019, the Marlins drew an average Opening Day/home opener attendance of 34,516 fans. That’s almost a sell-out! The Marlins did more to bolster their roster this offseason than in recent years, including signing Cuban-born slugger Jorge Soler. I’m hoping there will be an extra buzz in the atmosphere on Thursday, helping spark the team’s offense, and giving fans something to cheer for.

Friday: To platoon, or not to platoon.

• Right-handed pitcher Zach Eflin had non-traditional platoon splits in 2021: RHBs slashed .286/.317/.477, whereas LHBs slashed .264/.294/.443.
• Manager Don Mattingly has been mixing and matching the team’s lineup, so it’ll be interesting to see which batters trot out on Friday evening. Miguel Rojas, Brian Anderson, and Jesús Aguilar are three right-handed batters who’ve had success against Eflin.

Baseball Savant

Saturday: Trevor Rogers makes Bryce Harper look silly.

• Harper career vs. Rogers: 1-for-10, 1 single, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, 61.5% whiff rate.
• Todd Hollandsworth mentioned last season that Rogers will be a thorn in Harper’s side for a very, very long time. Rogers will take the mound on Saturday, facing the 2021 NL MVP and a few new Philly faces.

Sunday: The Miami HEAT’s first playoff game.

• The Marlins face Zack Wheeler on Sunday. The right-hander led the National League with 247 strikeouts, 3 complete games, 2 shutouts, and 213 ¹⁄₃ innings pitched in 2021.
• Marlins hitters have struck out 26.4% of the time, third-most in baseball. Wheeler was the strikeout king last year, so don’t expect an influx of offense from the home team on Sunday. South Florida sports fans might have a better time tuning in to the Miami HEAT’s playoff game at 1:00 pm.