Tag Archive for: Miami Marlins

Marlins returned to home-cooked beef, Scherzer-served 10K burger

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The Miami Marlins returned home riding a four game winning streak and a 5-2 road trip but immediately ran into the buzzsaw that is Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer.

Scherzer notched his 89th career 10+ strikeout game on Tuesday, leading the Nationals’ 6-1 win over the Marlins. It was also his third consecutive 10-strikeout game and in his last seven starts, Scherzer (7-5) is 5-0 with a 0.92 ERA. Not even a black eye and broken nose can stop him.

“You’ve got to come down here and you might not have many fans in the stands, there’s no atmosphere here, but you’ve got to mentally bring it every single time,” Scherzer said.

“They know how to play in this atmosphere and that’s what they’re really good at, catching you and grinding you away. It’s happened to me coming down here. I was fully aware of that and I wanted to come out there and really put an `A’ game against them,” he said.

This is the first home game since radio broadcaster Glenn Geffner went full William Wallace on Twitter after the Marlins’ series sweep in Philadelphia. The announced crowd of 7,327 was actually the second highest attendance mark on a Tuesday home game in Miami. So there’s progress.

This game wasn’t without it’s episode of drama. The only Marlins hitter with any success against Scherzer was shortstop and leadoff hitter Miguel Rojas had a little beef brewing during the game. He got the first hit of the game in the first inning and in the third inning, he got hit in the thigh by a pitch (which also hit catcher Kurt Suzuki) after hitting a ball back to Scherzer that was thrown during a timeout.

“I didn’t think it was professional to do a quick pitch that way,” Rojas said. “I was still looking down. I wasn’t in the box. He was trying to get a cheap strikeout because I wasn’t ready to hit.”

Rojas was ejected along with manager Don Mattingly by home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook in the eighth inning after disputing a called third strike pitch, Scherzer’s 10th strikeout. He sprinted out of the dugout and onto the field toward Estabrook, with Mattingly beside him trying to contain the fury.

“I wasn’t happy with that call, strike three right there,” Rojas said. “I feel like sometimes they make calls because sometimes the game is a little [lopsided] right there. You don’t know if you can come back. I thought it was inside. I had a lot of feelings during the game.”

Mattingly defended Rojas and said that the frustration was over the strike zone established by the umpire. He noted that there is possibly a bias that favors the long established veteran like Scherzer and gives him more room to work with, while tightening the zone for younger pitchers like Trevor Richards and rookie Zac Gallen.

“For us, you’ve seen it a little bit in St. Louis, when you get Wainwright and somebody out there,” Mattingly said. “It seems like every pitch they throw close is a strike, and then we’ve got Gallen going and everything has to be over the plate 100 percent, and we’re not getting it. Miggy, basically, is right. He’s basically saying, ‘Hey, we’re still playing. We still have a game going.’ Max is plenty good enough, he doesn’t need help.”

Speaking of Gallen, he will make his second career start on Wednesday against Patrick Corbin.

Yamamoto Wins Again as Marlins Sweep

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The Marlins completed the sweep of NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies by a score of 6-4 with a 16 HIT bombardment off Philadelphia pitching. Yamamoto took the ball for the Fish and he put the Marlins in a position to win. The Marlins outscored the Phillies 13-8 and out hit them 29-20. Very solid series sweep for the Fish.

Offense Produces

The Marlins offense managed to scratch a run off Phillies’ starter Enyel De Los Santos in the first inning. Rojas opened the game with a lead off single, followed by a Garret Cooper single which advanced Rojas to second. A wild pitch pushed Rojas to third and Cooper to second. 

Starlin Castro comes up huge with a single scoring Rojas but Cooper is thrown out at the plate after a Phillies’ challenge on the original safe call. Nonetheless, Miami is on the board early.

After a Cesar Puello single to open the second inning, JT Riddle blasts a two run homer to right field to give the Marlins a 3-2 lead. That is Riddle’s second home run in back to back games and he has now homered in three of his last four games.

More offense followed after the homer by JT Riddle. Garret Cooper and Brian Anderson followed up with homers of their own launching back to back home runs in the fifth inning.

Yamamoto’s Solid Start

Yamamoto got off to a rocky start in the first inning when he walked the bases loaded. He struggled to find the zone with his off speed pitches but minimized the damage to only two runs. A Jean Segura single scored two runs in the inning as they were the only runs the Phillies were gonna scratch off Yamamoto or the rest of the game. 

He managed to bounce back from that rocky start and threw five innings of quality baseball without allowing additional runs. His final stat line for his outing is 5 IP, 2 ER, 2 Hits, 4 Walks, and 7 Strikeouts on 99 pitches. Three of those four walks came in the first inning, so a solid bounce back in the aspect of command for the rookie.

Yamamoto Makes History

After his solid pitching performance and the Marlins securing the win, Yamamoto became the first Marlins’ pitcher in franchise history to win their first three starts to start their career. (via @DuseReport)

His performance also pushed the Marlins rotation to sole possession of the 3rd best rotation ERA in ALL of baseball with a 3.71 ERA. They passed the Cincinnati Reds and the Minnesota Twins and kept their lead of the Houston Astros. The only two teams ahead of the Marlins are the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Tampa Bay Rays, both with sub-3 ERA’s. (via @fishstripes)

Zac Gallen Shows Promise in Marlins/MLB Debut

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One of the Marlins’ top pitching prospects in Zac Gallen made his Major League debut last night against the St. Louis Cardinals and he did not disappoint. The Cardinals happen to be his former club that traded him for Marcel Ozuna before the 2018 season and he showed them what they traded.

Gallen Shines

In his five innings of work, Gallen allowed five hits, one earned run, struck out six and walked two. That’s a pretty impressive debut if you ask me. If I’m being honest, that run should’ve never came across to score. Gallen was robbed of strike three call on a pitch that was well inside the zone, but nonetheless, that run came across. Here’s a video of all of Gallen’s six *should’ve been seven* strikeouts. (via @Marlins)

Gallen did get worked into some deep counts against the Cardinals’ hitters which is why he left the game at 99 pitches through his five innings. He did leave with the game tied and when the Marlins came up to bat in the top half of the inning they managed to gain the lead and putting Gallen in line for the win.

Marlins Bullpen Blows Lead… Again.

Unfortunately, the woes of the Marlins’ bullpen continue to spoil the performances of the young pitching staff. Gallen was in line for the win all the way up until the 8th inning when Tayron Guerrero gave up a two-run home run to Tommy Edman. 

That home run happened to be on an 0-2 count and the first of Edman’s career. So good job on that one… Edman couldn’t catch up to the previous four fastballs that Guerrero was throwing to him so why Guerrero threw a center cut slider is beyond me. (via @Cardinals)

Riddle Saves The Day

Despite the bullpen blowing yet another lead, J.T Riddle was the hero the Marlins needed. He blasted a two-run home run off of Cardinals’ reliever Andrew Miller. In a 1-2 count, Miller threw a slider that hung over the middle of the plate and Riddle made him pay with a 400 foot blast to right field. (via @Marlins)

Strange Sequence of Events in the 11th

Things got interesting when the Cardinals got a run across on Sergio Romo and pulled with in one. Yadier Molina is not the fastest guy in the league. It was best that he was pinch ran for by Cardinals’ staring pitcher Jack Flaherty, at least that’s what Cardinals’ manager Mike Shildt thought. 

Flaherty took a standard lead off of second base but wasn’t paying attention. He was then picked off by Sergio Romo to end the threat of the tying run coming across and ended the game in the Marlins’ favor in 11 innings. (via @Marlins)

The Marlins head to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies for tomorrow night’s game. Sandy Alcantara will take the ball for the Marlins and Aaron Nola will take the mound for the Phillies.

Marlins’ Zac Gallen to Make MLB Debut Tomorrow

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The Miami Marlins are calling up one of their top pitching prospects in Zac Gallen to pitch in place of Pablo Lopez who will be placed on the injured list. The report came from a reddit post found by @r_LetsGoFish on twitter and was later confirmed by reporter and radio host @Craig Mish.

Gallen has been absolutely dominating the Pacific Coast League which, in all fairness, is known for hitting their home runs. In 91.1 innings this year in Triple-A New Orleans, Gallen has only given up ten home runs to opposing hitters. That’s not his only impressive stat from his time down in Triple-A.

Gallen holds a 9-1 record with a 1.77 ERA in 14 games started for the Baby Cakes. He has a 112 to 17 strikeout to walk ratio and opposing hitters are hitting for a measly .155 average when he’s on the mound.

He’s very effective in limiting traffic on the base paths as he holds a 0.71 WHIP during his tenure in the minors.

Gallen’s last start came on June 14th so the sudden trip to the injured list for Pablo Lopez works out conveniently for Gallen and for the Marlins. He will have had the full five days of rest. Lopez did miss time at the beginning and towards the end of the season last year with a shoulder issue and seems as if he will be placed on the IL with possibly another shoulder issue.

Although not confirmed yet of the extent of the injury, it looks like it will be an unfortunate stay on the injured list for Lopez.

Gallen was traded to the Marlins along with Sandy Alcantara and Magneuris Sierra in the trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis. He is the Marlins’ #5 ranked prospect in their top 30 and we are going to see a glimpse into the future tomorrow night. Who will Gallen be facing tomorrow? None other than his old organization in the Cardinals.

He will go head to head with long time veteran Cardinals’ pitcher Adam Wainwright and it’s going to be a fun one to watch.

Marlins Possible Trade Candidates Hurt or Not Producing

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The Marlins recently placed infielder Martin Prado (hamstring) and starting pitcher Jose Urena (herniated disc) on the injured list and it’s not looking good for trade possibility at the July 31st deadline. The Marlins now have a total of 10 players on the injured list, half of them being pitchers and the rest being position players.

 

The biggest blow being felt by the Marlins is the loss of Jose Urena. Urena was gaining trade interest from multiple teams that are considered to be contenders for a postseason run this year. With him being moved to the 60-day IL, it makes it practically impossible to move him and to receive a return well worth it. (Credit to @DuseReport)

In 13 games started this season, Urena is 4-7 with a 4.70 ERA in 74.1 innings pitched with 51 strikeouts. Teams are most likely looking at Urea’s ability to accumulate innings throughout the season. During the 2017 and 2018 seasons, he pitched more than 165 innings and started more than 30 games.

 

Neil Walker who is also on the IL with a right quadriceps strain, is also a very possible trade candidate. His injury is less significant than Urena’s so it’s possible he comes back before the July 31st deadline. In 51 games played this season, Walker is batting a .295 average with four home runs and 14 RBIs. He is one of the three veterans that was brought in on a one year deal so it could be a very productive trade when the time comes to deal him.

 

The other two veterans just simply aren’t producing enough to get back a good enough prospect package. Sergio Romo in 23 games has a 5.48 ERA, not the production you want from a possible trade candidate and Curtis Granderson has been pretty bad too. In 58 games, Granderson is batting an awful .184 average with seven homers and 17 RBIs. (Credit to @DuseReport)

The only true value these guys have brought to the young team is their experience. They can help the younger players get through the hiccups that they may face throughout the long season by being their mentor. Perfect example of Curtis Granderson giving insight to Marlins’ 2019 2nd round draft pick Nasim Nunez. (Credit to @FernandezAndreC)

So, who is the Marlins’ All-Star?

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Let’s be honest, the Marlins haven’t been the best team this year, but they haven’t been the worst. For having the fourth worst record in baseball, they have a few legit All-Star candidates that could represent them this year in Cleveland. Here are my three candidates, let’s start with Caleb “Doctor K” Smith.

 

Caleb Smith

Caleb Smith has been one of the biggest surprises so far this season for the Marlins. After coming off season ending surgery to repair a Grade 3 Lat strain, he holds a 3-4 record with a 3.41 ERA in twelve games started for the Marlins this season. He also ranks 26th among qualified starters in strikeouts with 82 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched with a 28% strikeout rate. Caleb Smith is ranked 6th among qualified starting pitchers in batting average against with hitters only hitting for a .198 average against him. Nobody expected him to be as good as he has been coming off that surgery, but here he is exceeding expectations.

 

Trevor Richards

Next possible All-Star candidate is another starting pitcher in Trevor Richards. Richards is quietly having a superb season this year for the Fish. In 13 games started he holds a 3.31 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 73.1 innings of work. Opposing hitters are finding a difficult time barreling up pitches or even getting hits against Richards. Hitters are putting the barrel on the ball only 6.6% of the time. His 3.31 ERA is ranked 10th in the National League among qualifying pitchers and his 6.6 Hits per 9 is ranked third in the National League. Richards is also ranked 11th in batting average against with hitters hitting only .206 against the right hander.

 

Harold Ramirez

Harold Ramirez has been an absolute steal for the Marlins since they signed him back in December and then proceeded to call him up to the big league club on May 11th. In his 26 games played and his 106 plate appearances he is batting a .327 average (entering tonights game) with one home run, and twelve RBIs. He has a hard hit rate of 39.5% along with a .784 OPS. He definitely has my vote for the All-Star game and he should have your vote as well. All three of these players deserve our vote. So go ahead and click this link to vote for your favorite Marlins into the 2019 MLB All-Star Game.

All-Star ballot: https://www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot

Photo by Cinco Razones Podcast. Follow them for all our baseball coverage (@CincoRazonesPod). 

Bee careful with these Marlins

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A queen bee and its workers couldn’t help the Padres to avoid losing the series against the Marlins.

The Miami Marlins defeated the San Diego Padres 9-3 to win the weekend series at Petco Park.

Now the Marlins have won four of their last five series to improve to a 21-36 record.

Miami is 11-5 in their last 16 games, and this team is starting to show what they can do when everything goes their way.

The big hits are coming, and a lot of crazy things are happening.

In fact, not even the bees can stop these Marlins…

Sunday’s game was delayed by an attack of bees in the bottom of the third inning, right after Garrett Cooper had given the Marlins a 3-0 lead with his fourth homer of the season.

Lots of Bees, Runs and Wins

There are too many good things happening at the same time. Cooper is finally showing why he’s been given so many opportunities, Alfaro is hitting the ball and bringing people home, and Trevor Richards is finally winning games.

The Marlins are finally giving Richards some run support, and his record of 3-5 is more accurate to what he have seen this year from him.

His 3.53 ERA is the second best among Marlins starters this year.

Harold Ramírez, by the way, is the hottest hitter of the team (or in the majors) since he got the callup.

Miami is going through what is probably the best moment they’re going to have this year, so enjoy it while it lasts.

On Tuesday they will start a three-game series against the Christian Yelich Brewers, and then they will be back to Marlins Park to face the Atlanta Braves during the weekend.

Bee careful with the Marlins. They’re hot right now…

 

You can follow the Marlins listening to Swings and Mishes or Cinco Razones Podcast. You pick: English or Spanish, preferably you’ll listen to both… 

La montaña rusa de los Marlins

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Los Marlins de Miami montaron en una montaña rusa a los fanáticos durante la última semana.

Barrieron a los Mets para cerrar la semana pasada y viajaron a Detroit y Washington para tratar de continuar con el buen momento.

Lograron barrer a los Tigres gracias a dos remontadas en los dos últimos juegos de la serie, y llegaron a Washington en alta.

Allá llegó la bajada trepidante característica de la montaña rusa. Perdieron el primer duelo de la serie de cuatro, a pesar de anotar 10 carreras. Esta fue la segunda vez en la temporada que el equipo hace nueve carreras o mas, y pierde.

Esta dolió un poco más porque los Marlins llegaron a estar ganando hasta por cuatro carreras, y estuvieron arriba casi todo el juego, hasta el octavo episodio, cuando Juan Soto le conectó un soberbio jonrón a Tyron Guerrero.

Luego de esa dolorosa derrta dejaron de batear por dos días consecutivos. Así se cortó la racha de victorias seguidas, y se acabó la algarabía que hubo en el Marlins Twitter por unos días.

Si se quiere ver el vaso medio lleno, los Marlins han ganado siete de los últimos 10 juegos. Una pequeña subida en la montaña rusa que han sido los Marlins esta temporada.

Y hablando de montañas rusas, por ahí va nuestro episodio 36 de Cinco Razones Podcast.

Leandro Soto viajó hasta la ciudad de Tampa para ir a dar vueltas en las montañas rusas de Busch Gardens, y para ir a quejarse por los extraños shifts de Kevin Cash y los Rays:

Vean qué más tuvo que sufrir Leandro en su viaje a Tampa:

¿Viene otra bajada fea en la montaña rusa?

En Washington volvimos a ver al equipo tambaleante que son los Marlins, con innings horribles en el pitcheo:

 

Sin embargo, la serie cerró con una nota positiva, pues Miami logró remontar nuevamente en el último juego de la serie en Memorial Day y venirse a Miami con cuatro victorias y tres derrotas en la gira.

Ayer, en el primero de la serie contra los Gigantes de San Francisco, volvimos a ver la combinación de buen pitcheo y bateo oportuno, incluyendo dos jonrones de tres carreras de dos miembros del futuro de los Marlins, Garrett Cooper y Jorge Alfaro:

Muchos mas jonrones y carreras

Los Marlins de Miami han comenzado a conectar mas jonrones, y mas jonrones con gente en base. Esa ha sido una de las claves para el buen momento en el que están en esta parte de la temporada:

Ya comenzaron los rumores de cambio

Esta temporada va a seguir siendo dura, a pesar de estos momentos de felicidad breve que nos va a dar el equipo. Dentro de poco va a empezar la temporada de huracanes, y junto a ella, vienen los rumores de posibles piezas que puedan servir de cambio antes del 31 de Julio.

Los primeros nombres en salir a la luz son José Ureña, quien tiene 2-1, con 2.37 de efectividad en sus últimas tres salidas, y Sergio Romo, quien ha estado casi perfecto en situaciones de salvado.

De hecho, la única oportunidad que desperdició fue precisamente esta semana que pasó, ante los Tigres, y fue por culpa de la defensiva de los Marlins.

Escuche qué dijeron Craig Mish y Jeremy Taché en Swings and Mishes sobre el interés de varios equipos en los servicios de estos dos lanzadores:

 

Alejandro Villegas va varias veces al año al Tropicana Field a trabajar, no como Leandro Soto. Cuando vuelve a Miami, ve mas bonito el Marlins Park, pues el Tropicana es realmente feo. Luego, recuerda que los Rays tienen un mucho mejor equipo que los Marlins… 

Moves are coming in the shaky Marlins outfield

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Harold Ramírez could be finally getting the call to make his debut in the majors sometime soon.

The Miami Marlins keep struggling offensively after losing three out of four games at Wrigley Field in which they scored only 11 runs, and hit just five extra-base hits (four doubles and a homer).

Colombian outfielder Harold Ramírez could be the answer to those problems.

The Marlins outfield has been really unproductive in these first 37 games of the season.

The addition of Brian Anderson playing a few games in right field has helped a little, but the numbers are outrageous.

The only hitter above .200 is Austin Dean, who’s only played six games and is not even with the team anymore.

No one in the Marlins outfield is close to .300 of OBP, which is unbelievable.

Craig Mish and Jeremy Tache, of Swings and Mishes, talked about this subject in their most recent episode.

For Mish, Harold Ramírez “will see some action in the majors soon”.

Ramírez, who could play both corner outfields, is hitting .358/.414 OBP in 30 games with the New Orleans Baby Cakes.

If they call Harold Ramírez up the Marlins will have to add them to the 40-man roster, which would force them to take somebody out.

You can check his stats in the minors and playing winter ball in Venezuela here.

Who will get CF?

Harold Ramírez played winter ball in Venezuela with Leones del Caracas and got to play a couple of games in center field, but that is definitively not the best position for him.

Especially with that huge outfield the Marlins have at Marlins Park.

As Craig Mish and Jeremy Tache discuss, the Marlins have to sort out the centerfield position, and either Herrera or Galloway would have to go.

They can’t have both of these guys on the roster.

Granderson in left field, Herrera in center and Ramirez in right, with O’Brien as a fourth outfielder playing against lefty pitchers.

Listen to Swings and Mishes to hear the latest news about Garrett Cooper, a complete analysis of the moves the Marlins could make and a reaction to Ken Rosenthal’s article about Gary Denbow in The Athletic.

Opportunity good as it gets for Isaac Galloway

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The ineptitude of the offense prompted the Miami Marlins to call up outfielder Isaac Galloway in order to provide the spark on Tuesday. 

Galloway knocked out a hit in each of his first two games but the Marlins lost both against the Chicago Cubs by a combined score of 10-0 and were swept for the third time this season.

In the minor leagues, Galloway was Mr. Marlin. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 2008 Draft out of Draft from Los Osos High School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and batted .286 in 48 Gulf Coast League Games that year. His biggest display of power came in 2011, where he belted 16 home runs and 54 RBI with 17 stolen bases in 110 games for Single-A Greensboro.

Overall, he’s been a .251 career hitter in the minors who has carved out the niche as a speedy, good defensive outfielder. He made a quick impression in his first game when he gunned down Cubs second baseman Daniel Descalso when he tried to tag up from second base to third base.

In the first 11 games of the 2019 minor league season, Galloway batted .297 with a .730 slugging percentage. Eight of his 12 hits were doubles and home runs, totaling eight RBI. While July 31, 2018 was his MLB debut, the early season call up finally allows Galloway a real opportunity to stand out in the barren wasteland of broken bats surrounded by the mirage of paradise.

“Which is obviously a great story for (Isaac Galloway), obviously, because it shows just his character and worth ethic to continue to be diligent with his work and always believing in himself,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “At this point, you kind of see a guy that’s really well rounded in his game and fundamentally sound in a lot of areas. His base running is really good, he can steal a bag, a really good defender. He’s hitting more and more as time went on and I think that’s why he’s here.” 

To make room for Galloway and relief pitcher Jarlin Garcia on the roster, shortstop JT Riddle was sent down to New Orleans and reliever Austin Brice was placed on the 10-day IL with gastroenteritis. The Marlins designated Galloway for assignment on February 4 to make room for Brice, so it comes as ironic that they would be involved in the same transaction but practically in reverse. 

How long will this opportunity last? Starting right fielder Garrett Cooper is recovering from a strained calf and has recently started running and taking batting practice. He may be making his return as early as next month. Riddle started at centerfield on Wednesday for New Orleans so that may add more options to the outfield in the coming weeks.

“Primarily, he will play short,” Mattingly said of Riddle. “We’ll try to get him a game here or there in the outfield. We’d already started that process. There were already a couple of games that he was an out away in a double-switch of playing in the outfield here. So we do want to get him a game or so a week, but he primarily will be at shortstop.”

Meanwhile, centerfielder Lewis Brinson is 1-for-18 in his last seven games. Austin Dean was called up to take over for the struggling Peter O’Brien and after a impressive first game, has fallen into the same slump.

At this point, as long as Galloway can keep his head above water, he’ll continue to swim with the Marlins.