Marlins Beat Angels 5-2, Improve to 33-41

        The skid is over. The Florida Marlins won 5-2 on a nice night at Sun Life Stadium. Javier Vasquez through 6 1/3 innings, and got the W in the Marlins second win of the month.

         The Marlins offense came from a solo homer by Gaby Sanchez in the first inning, an Omar Infante sac fly and rbi single, an RBI double and single for Mike Stanton. Stanton went 3-4 with 2 RBI's, a few days after being diagnosed with a right eye infection.

          For the Angels, they got both runs in the 9th off of newly called up pitcher Jose Ceda. Ceda was acquired from the Cubs in exchange for former Marlins closer Kevin Gregg. Ervin santana got the loss for the Angels, who did not have his best stuff. The Marlins cannot get Torii Hunter out, as yesterday he went 3-4 and is now 4-8 in the series against the Marlins.

          With Brad Hand being sent down to Jupiter, the Marlins will start RHP Brian Sanches for the second time this year. He pitched very well in the Marlins "bullpen" win in Los Angeles on May 30th. He will face Angels veteran starter Joel Pineiro on Wednesday night.
          
          A good day for Marlins fans as they get off the schnide and get back into the win column. Maybe Jack McKeon is the spark the Marlins needed, and the fun continues tonight at 7:10 at sun Life Stadium with Sanches v Pineiro.

Marlins lose 1st game of doubleheader in Philly; Some news

      Didn't do a full preview for today's doubleheader, I'll just be doing some wrapups. Elih Villanueva had a terrible start, giving up 8 runs in 3 innings. It again started with him walking the pitcher, that always kills Marlins pitchers. Our only run in the 8-1 loss was again on a 1st inning run, a Logan Morrison homerun. The Marlins fall to 32-35, and have now lost 5 in a row.
     
     Some moves were made after the ball game as INF Jose Lopez was recalled from AAA New Orleans, and Villanueva was sent down to AAA. I've heard from sources that Jose Lopez will be in tonight's starting lineup, playing 3B. Who knows, maybe a fresh bat that will bring some life to this team. Can't hurt.

Key stat: Jose Lopez is 7-21 with 1 HR career vs Halladay. Who knows, maybe a spark?

      One thing I find highly annoying is that the Marlins called up a minor leaguer in Elih Villanueva that had no business being here .He was only 5-4 in the minors and had been struggling. All this, basically sacrificing a game, to save a day's rest for Javier Vasquez, who is indeed a professional athlete. Especially against the Phillies in Citizens Bank Park, just a bad move in my opinion.
     
    Another tidbit, as you guys know by know is that Josh Johnson has been placed on the 60-day DL, as retro to May 15th. The Marlins expect him back right after the all-star break, maybe in that series at Wrigley Field. Ozzie Martinez was also sent back down to New Orleans. He has no business being in the MLB right now, and needs some AB's playing everyday, which he can get at AAA. Good move.
    
    Tonight's matchup, 2 men with no-hitters. Should be a good one. Anibal requested to against Halladay, I love that.

Go Fish!

Florida Marlins (32-34) @ Philadelphia Phillies (41-26) 6/14/11 Summary

Phillies homer their way past Marlins 9-1:

They say never look Cole Hamels in the eye, well the Marlins did tonight.

Notes and thoughts: 

• The Marlins got crushed tonight, losing 9-1 on a rainy night at Citizens Bank Park.
• Dom Brown, Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, and Ryan Howard all homered. Brown homered twice, in fact. 
• Chris Volstad's woes against the Phillies continue. He couldn't even get through 6 IP and gave up 8 runs, all earned.
• Ryan Howard has 7 homers against Volstad in 24 AB's. That is crazy. 
• The Marlins had a good first inning, collecting 2 of their 6 total hits, and their only run of the game.
• Chris Volstad should not be in this rotation going into the future in my opinion. He just can never get it done out there. He has his moments where he pounds a hitter with his two-seamer, but he always seems to fall behind or have that one bad inning, and cost his team a chance at winning. A starter in the MLN doesn't do good everytime, but he does bad more often than not.

Key Plays:
Ryan Howard homered to left in the 1st
Chase Utley homered in the 3rd
Domonic Brown homered in the 4th
Jimmy Rollins homered in the 6th
Domonic Brown homered in the 7th
Sensing a trend? Yeah.
I don't even want to give you a link to those, so if you enjoy seeing Phillies bombs off Volstad, you can look them up. They might still be traveling?

Wrapup:
Overall a depressing game for the still skidding Florida Marlins. They fall to 32-34, the first time all season they have been 2 games under .500. A double header comes tomorrow, and some pitcher named Halladay pitches the nightcap. Ever heard of him? Pretty good. Anibal Sanchez requested Edwin to have him start against Halladay, he wants that task, which I thought was pretty nice. Preview coming tomorrow, as the Marlins lose again. Death, taxes, and a Marlins loss? Who cares, a Marlin fan at 162-0 and a Marlin fan at 0-162. Go Fish!

Florida Marlins (32-33) @ Philadelphia Phillies (40-26) 6/14/11 Preview

A classy Cole Hamels (8-2, 2.58 ERA)

 
VS

                                                                    

Chris Volstad (2-6, 5.51 ERA)


Marlins Lineup:
Florida Marlins:
1. Hanley Ramirez SS
2. Emilio Bonifacio CF
3. Logan Morrison LF
4. Gaby Sanchez 1B
5. Mike Stanton RF
6. John Buck C
7. Omar Infante 2B
8. Wes Helms 3B
9. Chris Volstad P

Pre-game notes and thoughts:

• Best Phillies pitcher this year? Go. Nope, his name is not Roy, his name is Cole. The arrival of Roy Halladay has greatly influenced Hamels career. Don't forget he was the World Series MVP at one point in time.
• While Hamels hasn't fared too well against the Fish, the pitching matchup favors the Phillies by a wide margin.
• Chris Coghlan has a .412 batting average in 17 AB's (7-17) against Hamels, yet is still benched. A very interesting move by Edwin, making a statement that Coghlan needs to get it together.
• Expect some homers in this series, as Citizens Bank Park is hardly friendly to pitchers. A Stanton bomb would be nice. But morose, a Marlins win, multiple of them, they need them.

Keys to the Game:

• For the Marlins: Volstad needs to avoid the big inning. In a ballpark like this, and an offense like the Phillies have, big innings can happen. Volstad always runs into an inning where he struggles. Marlins hitters need to get men on base against Hamels and start a rally of their own. They will need the big hit and occasional long ball to have a chance in this game and series.
• For the Phillies: Play the baseball that they have played all year. An Utley diving catch, a Howard bomb, a Halladay complete game. They are elite. If they keep the game close, or take an early lead, they will be ready to pounce on a tired Marlins bullpen if they get to it. If they get to the bullpen early, they will win this game.

Beautiful Citizens Bank Park is the setting for the biggest Marlins series of the year this far. Go Fish.

Marlins lose to Diamondbacks 12-9, fall below .500:

Ricky falters, and falls to 4-2 on the season.

Notes and thoughts: 

• The Marlins have not been under .500 since April 3rd. Well, they are tonight. After losing 12-9 in an adventerous game, the Marlins are 32-33. 
• Ricky Nolasco gave up 9 runs, 4 being unearned, and did not fool anyone. He only lasted 3 innings. 
• The bullpen was worked, but they did an effective job. Giving up only 3 runs in 6 innings.
• Why does Kirk Gibson always look so sad? He is a solid manager though. That team has a nice core, and a solid future.

Key Plays:
In a 4 run fourth, Miguel Montero had a 3-run double.
Zach Duke hit a 2-run HR in a 5 run 3rd.
Omar Infante had a 2-run double
Gerardo Parra nailed Bonifacio at the plate after an Infante single.
Mike Stanton added an RBI single, and had a 2-run double.
John Buck had a 2-run single.
Key Plays

Wrapup:
On a night where the Marlins had the most hits and runs they have scored this season, they lose. Isn't baseball a beautiful sport? They fall 7.5 behind the Phils, and they need to gain some games to have a chance. How do they do that? They beat the Phils. A HUGE 4 game series is among them as 4 games will be played at Citizens Bank Park in a span of 48 hours. While it is early in the season, this series may make or break their season.

Arizona Diamondbacks (36-30) @ Florida Marlins (32-32) 6/12/11 Summary

Marlins lose to Diamondbacks 5-1, fall to 32-32:

Every time I tried to find a picture of Brad Hand, Brad Pitt kept popping up, so here is a picture of him after a pitiful game at Sun Life Stadium. Sponsored by Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez?

Notes and thoughts: 

• Thank god for the new Marlins ballpark. The game got soggy in the late innings as the Fish fell to .500 on the season. 
• Brad Hand was unimpressive, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings. Not terrible, but way too much when your offense only gets you 1 run in the entire game.
• In fact, wen Brad Hand has been on the mound, in 11 combined innings, the Marlins hitters have given Brad 0 runs in support. 
• Daniel Hudson was solid, but not overpowering. He had 8 K's, but the Marlins had a baserunner every inning. 
• The struggles with RISP continued, as the Fish were 0-8 and left 13 guys on base. 
• Mike Stanton,, my boy, had a rough day, going 0-5. He had a guy in scoring position his first four times up there. Oh well, with his bombs, come his bad games. 
• Uhh, Steve Cishek, boss. 

Key Plays:
In the 1st, Stephen Drew drove in 2 with a double.
In the 3rd, Ryan Roberts homered again, his 3rd time against the Marlins already this year.
In the 7th, Gaby Sanchez had a sac fly to drive in Coghlan, but the Marlins failed to score anymore after having the bases loaded with no outs.
Yeah, 3 key plays, not an exciting game today.

Wrapup:
Average. That's what the Marlins record is now. An exact .500 record, at 32-32, after they have gone 2-12 in their last 14. What happened to this team after the sweep in SF? We are now 7 GB behind the Phils, and 5 back in the WC. This series with Philly is huge, and one of the starters in the doubleheader may be a guy in the minors as I type, yikes. Well, just take it one game at a time. ARI tomorrow, Rich and Tommy will call it beautifully as usual. Go Fish.

Arizona Diamondbacks (35-30) @ Florida Marlins (32-31) 6/11/11 Summary

Marlins lose to Diamondbacks 9-5, fall to 32-31:

Stanton homers again, but Marlins fall 9-5.

Notes and thoughts: 

• Well, on a rain delayed game in Miami, the Marlins dropped a bad loss against the Diamondbacks, falling 9-5. 
• Javier Vasquez looked promising, striking out 6 through 3, but fell apart in the 4th. He ended up going only 3 2/3 innings, giving up 7 earned runs. He now has an ERA over 7.00, the only SP with a 7.00+ ERA with at least 10 starts. 
• I feel Edwin needs to look into finding a different option at starter, Vasquez just is not cutting it. Good thing he is only a 1 year contract.
• As far as hitting, the Marlins started solid, getting a leadoff homer from Coghlan, and a RBI triple from LoMo in the 3rd. Gaby and Stanton added bombs, their 11th and 16th, respectively. 
• The Marlins need to win the next 2. 6 games behind the Phillies is scary; they may need to look into the WC mainly. 

Key Plays:
In the 1st inning Ryan Roberts homered to right.
In the 1st inning Chris Coghlan homered to right.
In a 6 run 4th, Javy walked Ian Kennedy leading to a Ryan Roberts walk with the bases loaded, making it 3-2.
In the biggest play of the game, Kelly Johnson cleared the bases with double. DBacks up 6-2.
Justin Upton added an RBI double to make it 7-2.
Gaby added a 2-run HR in the 5th, making it 7-4.
Next batter, Stanton launched a solo HR.
All key highlights can be seen here

Wrapup:
Well, the Marlins fall to 32-31.
MVP of the game was Ian Kennedy. He went 8 strong innings and after the Stanton homer, he retired 10 straight batters. Prediction: Stanton will lead the MLB in homers after the season is over. Man is a beast. Brad Hand starts tomorrow for Florida, a must win in my opinion. Preview will come sometime tomorrow. Fish lose, but keep your heads up, its a long season. However, taking 3 of 4 from Arizona before heading up to Philly would be ideal.

Arizona Diamondbacks (34-30) @ Florida Marlins (32-30) 6/11/10 Preview



Ian Kennedy
(6-2, 3.01 ERA)

 




                                                                    
VS




Javier Vasquez
(3-5, 6.50 ERA)

Marlins Lineup:
Florida Marlins:
1. Chris Coghlan CF
2. Omar Infante 2B
3. Logan Morrison LF
4. Gaby Sanchez 1B
5. Mike Stanton RF
6. Greg Dobbs 3B
7. John Buck C
8. Emilio Bonifacio SS
9. Javier Vasquez P

Pre-game notes and thoughts:

• Javier Vasquez had a rough start last Monday v Milwaukee. He allowed a big 3-run HR o Prince Fielder in the Marlins 7-2 loss. The Marlins only non 1-run loss in their 8 game slide.
• In Javy's last start against Arizona, he was crusing into the 6th, until allowing a 2-run HR to Ryan Roberts. The DBacks went on to win the game 6-5.
• Ian Kennedy is having a solid year for Arizona, but gave up 3 ER in 5 IP last week against the Fish. In his career he is 1-1 with a 4.35 ERA in 2 career starts against Florida.
• John Buck has been hot recently as he has a 5 game hitting streak. He has seen sucees batting 6th behind Mike Stanton. The two went back-to-back last night and almost went back-to-back on Thursday.

Keys to the Game:

• For the Marlins: Javier Vasquez has to go at least 6 innings effectively. In Javy's starts, he has given up most of his runs in the 1st inning. If Javy goes 6 strong, unlike his last start vs Ari when he gave up a HR in the 6th to deflate the lead, the Marlins chances go way up. Offensively, hitting effectively with RISP is key. The Marlins also have a great record when they hit HR's, so a bmb by Stanton would help as well.
• For the Diamondbacks: Ian Kennedy needs to keep up what he is doing. He has a 3.01 ERA which is 2nd best on the Diamondbacks staff. He needs to keep the Marlins hitters off balance and keep the ball in the ballpark. The offense needs to rely less on homers, and start to manufacture runs against Javy, especially early in the game where he is vulnerable.

Arizona Diamondbacks (34-29) @ Florida Marlins (31-30) 6/10/11 Preview



Joe Saunders
(3-5, 4.32 ERA)



                                                                    
VS

Anibal Sanchez
(5-1, 2.97 ERA)

 Lineups:
Arizona Diamondbacks:
Unannounced
Florida Marlins:
1. Emilio Bonifacio CF
2. Omar Infante 2B
3. Logan Morrison 1B
4. Gaby Sanchez 1B
5. Mike Stanton RF
6. John Buck C
7. Wes Helms 3B
8. Ozzie Martinez SS
9. Anibal Sanchez P

Pre-game notes and thoughts:

• Anibal Sanchez goes against the team he threwhis no-hitter against in 2006. Anibal comes off a rough start against the Brewers where he gave up 8 hits and 5 runs in 5 IP.
• Anibal has a higher ERA at home with a 3.03 earned run average, but is 2-0 on the season at Sun Life Stadium, opposed to a 3-1 record away from home. He has posted a 2.93 ERA away from Sun Life.
• Joe Saunders faced the Marlins once this season and got the win. He gets a lot of double play balls, in fact he has the 2nd most double play balls since 2008.
• Anibal comes off a gem against the DBacks, throwing 8 great innings and only offering up HR's to Justin Upton and Kelly Johnson. 2 runs allowed in 8, I'm sure Edwin will take that again. This start was in fact the last Marlins win.

Keys to the Game:

• For the Marlins: Keep Kelly Johnson and Justin Upton off the basepaths. Johnson was 6-12 with 3 HR in the last series meeting betweeen the two, while Upton was 8-14 with 2 HR. You have to let someone else beat you. As far as hitting, the Marlins need to come through with hits with RISP.
• For the Diamondbacks: Saunders needs ground balls and needs to keep the Marlins hitters off balance. Saunders does not have over powering stuff, but can be effective with his control. On the hitting side, the Diamondbacks need help from the bottom of the order. If men are on for Johnson and Upton, Arizona is hard to beat.

Prediction:
Marlins win 6-4.