The Miami Marlins were not the team everyone would expect to be 7-3 in their first 10 games. Miami picked up big names in the fall and had a great spring to which everyone called a fluke. Miami is now trying to prove the haters wrong.
Series Overview #1: Opening Weekend Marlins @ Phillies. Game 1 Score: 5-2 Marlins Sandy Alcantara earned his first win of the season after pitching a strong 6.2 innings allowing 1 earned and striking out 7. Miami went in on Philadelphia’s ace Aaron Nola who allowed 4 earned runs. Jesus Aguilar made himself comfortable in his first game of the season hitting a 2 run blast to help in the 5-2 victory. The bullpen came in, closed it out, and Brandon Kintzler picked up his first save as a Marlin. Game 2 Score: 7-1 Phillies Caleb Smith came out the gate struggling allowing 6 walks in only 3 innings of work. He managed to only allow 1 run. The bullpen struggled this game as Vesia allowed 2 earned and earned the loss and Ryne Stanek allowed 3 earned. Stephen Tarpley allowed a solo shot. Miguel Rojas was the lone man this game and drove in the only run. Game 3 Score: 11-6 Marlins Robert Duggar got the start after Jose Urena was scratched and you could tell he was struggling early on. in 3.1 innings, he allowed 6 hits, 5 runs, and which 4 were earned. The pen came in though and only allowed 1 run. Stephen Tarpley would pick up the win. Despite the bad start from Duggar the offense, especially Miguel Rojas, came to play. Miguel Rojas was a double shy from the cycle but drove in four runs this game. Brian Anderson, Jesus Aguilar, and Corey Dickerson also went deep in this game. The Marlins would take the series 2-1.
After this game, Miami would have multiple positive tests that put the MLB season in a scare. Miami, however, went right to work signing pen arms and batters to make up for all their Covid-19 losses. No one would expect the Marlins to do what they did over the next seven games.
Series Overview #2: Baltimore Orioles Vs Miami Marlins Game 1 Score: 4-0 Marlins Pablo Lopez came out slinging after being stuck in a hotel for a little over a week. In 5 innings of work, he allowed 2 hits and struck out 7 (tied for career-high). The bullpen was lights out this game, allowing only 1 hit. Cervelli and Aguilar both hit solo bombs to help the 4-0 victory. Game 2 (Doubleheader Game 1) Score: 1-0 Marlins Elieser Hernandez got the start for Game 1 of the doubleheader and proved to be dominant. in 4.1 innings of work, he allowed 2 hits, a walk, and struck out 5. His impressive spring helped him stay dominant in his first start of the season. The newly acquired Nick Vincent picked up the win and Brandon Kintzler picked up his 2nd save of the year. Brian Anderson was the whole offense in game 1 after hitting a solo shot off of Cobb. Game 3 (Doubleheader Game 2) Score: 2-1 Marlins This was strictly a bullpen game for Miami as the MLB implemented the 7 inning doubleheader rule. Josh Smith got the bullpen start and pitched 2 innings. Brian Moran picked up his first win and Justin Shafer ended the shutout streak. Stephen Tarpley went on to pick up his first save of the season. Jesus Aguilar and Brian Anderson both had RBI singles in this game and was enough offense to get the win. Game 4 Score: 8-7 Marlins This was a big game going in as Don Mattingly was looking for his 282nd win to become the winningest manager in the Marlins franchise. His team did not disappoint. Jordan Yamamoto was recalled to make his first of the season and had some early struggles. in 4 innings, he allowed 6 hits and 4 earned but did manage to strike out 4. Jorge Guzman came in after to make his MLB debut and had a great first inning of work but would allow back to back solo home runs. The newly acquired Mike Morin would pitch 2 clean innings and earn his first victory as a Marlin. Brandon Kintzler gave Miami a scare in the 9th after allowing a run but would end up picking up his 3rd save of the season. The offense this game would produce 8 runs after only allowing 3 in two games the day before. What stood out most was Jonathan Villar hitting a home run on the first pitch of the game against his former squad.
The Marlins would sweep the Orioles improving to 6-1 on the short season. They would roll into New York looking to extend the win streak to 6 games. The Marlins would also call up 2 starters from Jupiter to make their major league debuts.
Series Overview #3: Marlins @ Mets Game 1 Score: 4-3 Marlins Hours before the game, Marlin fans were wondering which prospect would be the one to make his debut. It was none other than the 23-year-old Humberto Mejia. He did not disappoint as in 2.1 innings, he allowed 2 hits, a solo home run, 2 walks, but struck out 6 batters! Shafer and Tarpley both pitched 2 clean innings and Tarpley would end up picking up his 2nd win of the season. The 7th and 8th roll around and the series looks to be taking a turn. James Hoyt and Richard Bleier both got some bad calls from the umpire that allowed 2 runs. Nick Vincent came in and would get the 1.2 inning save. Cervelli was the main source of runs as he hit a 3 run home run in the 2nd inning of the game. Brian Anderson also hit an RBI single and that was enough offense to pick up the win and extend the winning streak to 6. Game 2 Score: 8-4 Mets The Marlins had another MLB debut and this time it was the 25-year-old Daniel Castano. Despite his statline in his debut, he did not have the best help from the umpires, a reoccurring theme in this series. Castano’s debut statline: 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned runs, 1 walk, 4 strikeouts. The bullpen struggled a bit but James Hoyt and the famous switch-pitcher Pat Venditte looked good in the loss. the offense put up runs but not enough in this one. Logan Forsythe picked up a solo home run, Monte Harrison hit a 2 RBI single, and Brian Anderson had an RBI single himself. The Marlins would snap their 6 game win streak. Game 3 Score: 4-2 Mets The Marlins would have a tough time entering this game as they were set to face back to back NL CY Young Winner Jacob deGrom. The pitching matchup was one to watch, Pablo Lopez, the first Marlin to make his second start this season, against Jacob deGrom. From the first inning, all fans knew that the umpiring crew was going to be another horrible one once again. Despite only throwing 80 pitches, Pablo Lopez had a great line against the ace Degrom: 5 innings, 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 4 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Stephen Tarley struggled but Moran and Morin both looked good out the pen. The Marlins drove deGrom’s pitch count up early but left a bunch of runners in scoring position this game. Jesus Aguilar picked up his team-leading 4th home run off deGrom which was all the offense in this game. This game was not only bad from the umpiring crew, but the Marlins really struggled on defense which helped them lose back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Despite having more than half the team having Covid-19, veterans and new signings have really stepped up for Miami. Jesus Aguilar is having a great bounce-back season so far, batting .306/.341/.694 with 4 home runs and 8 RBI’s. He has a team-leading 11 hits and team-leading OPS of 1.036 (counting everyday players). Brian Anderson is staying hot, batting .303/.410/.545. His .410 is the team leading OBP and leads all Marlins in RBI’s with 9. The power bat of Corey Dickerson has not looked the worse either, batting .229/.289/.371 with 8 hits, 1 home run, 1 RBI, and an OBS of .661. Despite 11 K’s, Jonathan Villar still has 8 hits, 1 home run, 4 RBI’s, and an OPS of .537. Villar looks to get out of his slump and keep performing as he knows how to!
One of the big stories to Miami’s success has been the pitching. Stephen Tarpley has shown he can go long innings as he has 2 wins in 5.1 innings with a high 3.38 ERA. Brandon Kintzler has looked great coming in as the closer, as he leads the team with 3 saves and an ERA of 1.80 ERA. Mike Morin, James Hoyt, and Josh A. Smith have also looked great and look to keep helping in this strong pen. Pablo Lopez looks to stay dominant as he holds a 1.80 ERA in 2 starts and chew innings while the main chunk of Marlin starters recover from Covid-19.
