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.