May 5-8: Marlins at Padres Series Preview

In the midst of their worst losing streak of 2022, the Miami Marlins are embarking on their second west-coast road trip in as many months. It begins with an extra-long matchup against the San Diego Padres.

We’ll cover the usual stuff in this series preview:

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

Schedule, Watch, Listen

Thursday, May 5 at 9:40 pm

Friday, May 6 at 9:40 pm

Saturday, May 7 at 8:40 pm

Sunday, May 8 at 4:10 pm

• TV broadcast: Bally Sports Sun for Thursday’s game; Friday-Sunday on Bally Sports Florida (Paul Severino and J.P. Arencibia)
• Radio broadcast for all 3 games: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710

Grid View

• May 5 Marlins probable starter Jesús Luzardo Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
• May 5 Padres probable starter Nick Martinez Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
• May 6 Marlins probable starter Sandy Alcantara Photo by Kelly Gavin/Getty Images
• May 6 Padres probable starter Yu Darvish Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
• May 7 Marlins probable starter Pablo López Photo by Diamond Images via Getty Images
• May 7 Padres probable starter Sean Manaea Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
• May 8 Marlins probable starter Trevor Rogers Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images
• May 8 Padres probable starter Joe Musgrove Photo by Denis Poroy/Getty Images

Probable Pitchers

Thursday: LHP Jesús Luzardo vs. RHP Nick Martinez

• Luzardo: 3.10 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 34.1 K%, 40.0 HardContact% in 20.1 IP
• Martinez: 4.12 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 20.7 K%, 39.3 HardContact% in 19.2 IP

Friday: RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. RHP Yu Darvish

• Alcantara: 2.90 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 21.0 K%, 23.2 HardContact% in 31.0 IP
• Darvish: 4.44 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 22.5 K%, 17.6 HardContact% in 26.1 IP

Saturday: RHP Pablo López vs. LHP Sean Manaea

• López: 1.61 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 28.3 K%, 18.6 HardContact% in 28.0 IP
• Manaea: 3.60 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 24.8 K%, 32.5 HardContact% in 30.0 IP

Sunday: LHP Trevor Rogers vs. RHP Joe Musgrove

• Rogers: 6.14 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 18.6 K%, 27.9 HardContact% in 22.0 IP
• Musgrove: 1.97 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 26.8 K%, 23.3 HardContact% in 32.0 IP

Projected Lineups

Roster Resource / FanGraphs

Roster Resource / FanGraphs

What to watch for on...

Thursday: Make-or-break pitch

• Jesús Luzardo has relied more heavily on his slurve this season, yielding generally great results. He has tallied 20 of his 28 strikeouts on that pitch.
• The Padres rank second among all MLB teams with a .308 weighted on-base average against breaking balls, according to Baseball Savant. Eric Hosmer (MLB-leading .663 wOBA) and Manny Machado (.526 wOBA) are especially dangerous.

Friday: Agui’s on-base streak

• Jesús Aguilar has recovered from his slow start to the year by going on a career-best 18-game on-base streak. He even showed some extra-base power on Wednesday as he continues to solidify himself as the regular No. 2 hitter in the Marlins’ lineup.
• Assuming that Aguilar reaches safely in the series opener, he will have an opportunity to match Trea Turner (20 games) for the longest streak of the 2022 season.

Saturday: El Oso revenge game?

Fish Stripes original GIF

• Jorge Alfaro was the Marlins’ primary catcher from 2019-2021, slashing .252/.298/.386 (84 wRC+) with 25 home runs in 253 games. They traded him to the Padres right before the MLB lockout began.
• Alfaro has been behind the plate for every one of Sean Manaea’s starts this season, so it’s a good bet that he will be in the lineup on Saturday night. How will he perform against the club that essentially salary-dumped him over the winter?

Sunday: Big test for Trevor Rogers

• Although Rogers has been effective in a couple of his 2022 outings, he doesn’t resemble his old All-Star self. The tall lefty’s strikeout rate is far below the league average and he is struggling to maintain his fastball velocity deep into starts.
• This will be the Padres’ first time facing Rogers, so perhaps that lack of familiarity will be an advantage for him.