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.