Philadelphia Phillies Weekend Preview: Miami Marlins

A preview of the weekend series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins.

The Philadelphia Phillies will have an opportunity to play spoiler this weekend. The Miami Marlins are four games out of a wild card spot and are looking to make a desperate push in the final weeks of the season. Therefore, they can’t afford to lose any games to teams below them in the standings.

Miami Marlins

Record: 73-73 (3rd in National League East)

Manager: Don Mattingly

The last time they met

The Phillies and Marlins faced off in Miami a couple of weeks ago. Thanks to strong starts from Jerad Eickhoff and Adam Morgan, the Phillies took the first two games. Unfortunately, Jeremy Hellickson and the Phillies’ offense faltered in the finale, and the Marlins avoided the sweep.

What’s the deal with the Marlins

The Marlins are on the fringe of playoff contention. They’ve still got a shot at the playoffs, but thanks in part to a five-game losing streak earlier in the month, they have almost no margin for error.

The Marlins have been held back by their offense. They rank 12th in the National League in runs, and that’s largely a result of the lack of power. Their 115 home runs rank 14th in the NL, and that poor ranking is partly because Giancarlo Stanton has missed a large chunk of the season. Then again, it seems like Stanton misses large chunks of every season with an injury.

The pitching staff has been carried by staff ace Jose Fernandez who is having an excellent season, but after Fernandez, the rotation gets a lot less dominant. Tom Koehler is a decent mid-rotation starter, but guys like Andrew Cashner and Jose Urena are nothing special.

Reason to hate the Marlins

It’s kind of tough to hate a team that gives us such wonderful innovations as the Ichiro Elevator:

Marlins player who isn’t entirely horrible

Speaking of Ichiro, he’s still doing pretty well at his advanced age. He might not be a threat to win a batting title anymore, but in a part-time role, he’s recorded a .370 on-base percentage.

Marlins player who is horrible

It seems that Dee Gordon‘s success might have partly attributable to the use of PEDs. After serving an 80 game suspension, Gordon’s numbers are significantly down from his back-to-back All-Star seasons.

Phillies player who has been hot lately

Alec Asher has impressed in his first two starts since returning to the major leagues. He’s lasted at least six innings both times out and has an impressive 1.46 ERA.

Reasons for optimism

1. Fernandez pitched on Wednesday, so his turn won’t come up during the series.
2. For all the Phillies’ problems lately, starting pitching hasn’t been one of them. Phillies’ starters have the second best ERA in baseball in September.
3. Roman Quinn has added some much-needed speed and energy to the top of the lineup.

Reasons for pessimism

The Phillies’ hitters haven’t matched the success of the starting pitchers. Their 42 runs scored this month are the worst in the National League.

The bullpen – closer Jeanmar Gomez in particular – has had trouble holding leads lately.

Tweet of importance

If you want to say goodbye to Ryan Howard, the final homestand will be your chance.

Next: Freddy Galvis' Breakout

Prediction

The Phillies will get a strong start from Morgan to win the opener before dropping the final two games.