Struggling Marlins look to Even Series vs. Arizona

The Florida Marlins are struggling this season, and more importantly, they haven’t played well at home. A 17-11 record on the road is far and away the best in the National League, but a 15-21 mark at home has put the Marlins 7 games behind the division leading Philadelphia Phillies in the N.L. East. Things have only gotten harder for Florida as they take on a red-hot Arizona Diamondbacks squad that has climbed to within a half of game of San Francisco in the West.

Surprisingly the D-Backs have managed to get themselves into contention with offense. Baseball predictions had this team finishing towards the bottom of the league due to their lack of pitching and mediocre line-up. However, they have managed to produce a ton of runs offensively, and are just 3rd in the National League in runs scored. Their pitching staff was thought to of been depleted when they let Dan Haren go to Anaheim, but an unexpected boost in their starting rotation from Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson has propelled them to new heights.

It has been a full team effort for Arizona offensively this season. Contributions from Miguel Montero, Ryan Roberts, Chris Young and Kelly Johnson have been far greater than MLB experts could’ve expected when the season started. Justin Upton and Stephen Drew have lived up to expectations, and are leading by example. The Diamondbacks are the most well rounded team in the N.L. West, and may very well finish the year on top of the league.

Florida has done the exact opposite of Arizona this year. They were expected to be towards the top of the N.L. East or at least in contention for the wildcard spot, but they have fallen off dramatically over the last few weeks and will not need to dig deep to climb out of the tremendous hole that they’ve created. Losing 10 out of their last 11 games including 2 of 3 from Arizona this series has been devastating to the Marlins.

Losing their “Ace” Josh Johnson to injury has been a big part of their recent struggles, but they still have several other starters that are capable of putting together quality starts. The problem for Florida is that outside of Anibal Sanchez and Ricky Nolasco, they don’t have any depth in their starting rotation. This season has the potential to be very difficult for the Marlins unless they get far better performances out of their starters the rest of the year.

A 4-1 Nolasco will take the mound on Monday to try to salvage a series split against Arizona. Zack Duke only has 3 starts to his resume’ this year, but he has shown the ability to shut down the opposition. A 7 inning performance in which he allowed just 1 run against Pittsburgh in his last start will be a huge confidence builder for Duke heading into his start tonight. Tune in Monday as the Marlins and D-Backs battle to gain ground in the National League.

 

Related posts:

1. The Florida Marlins are Making a move in the N.L. East
2. Halladay faces tough challenge against Sanchez and Marlins
3. Josh Johnson takes on Rockies Offense Sunday
4. Kershaw and Nolasco in Battle of Young Guns
5. Collmenter looks to extend Series against Brewers

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