What happens when you trade away the majority of your major league caliber talent, and are then confronted with putting almost half of your rebuilt roster on the disabled list? You have the 2013 Miami Marlins. The Marlins were the last team in the National League to reach 10 wins and have been the worst offensive team in the NL.
| 2013 | W-L | exW-L | RS/G | RA/G | NL RS | NL RA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reds | 22-16 | 22-16 | 4.7 | 3.9 | 2nd | 6th |
| Marlins | 11-27 | 12-26 | 2.8 | 4.3 | 15th | 11th |
WHERE TO WATCH
If Jay Bruce hits a homerun, and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a sound? Ticket scalpers are practically giving away tickets for great seats. If you live in driving distance to Marlins Park, it seems likely that you could have great seats to watch our beloved Reds.
If you live here in the tri-state area, all three games will be televised on Fox Sports Ohio.
SINCE THEY LAST MET
The Marlins plan to shrink their disabled list roster from 11 to 10 today with the activation of backup catcher Jeff Mathis. They’ve had four players go on the DL since leaving Cincinnati in that April 18-21st series, including their lone remaining star, Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton was just downgraded this past week to an unknown return date.
Former Red Chris Valaika had wrist surgery on Friday and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. Former Red Austin Kearns was recently transferred from the bereavement list to the restricted list for an undisclosed personal family matter. Please keep Austin and his family in your prayers.
PROBABLE AN UNLIKELY BATTING LINEUP
| Player | Bats | Pos | Age | PA | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS+ | BABIP | SB/CS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Pierre | (L) | LF | 35 | 137 | .240 | .291 | .272 | 58 | .268 | 12/2 |
| Placido Polanco | (R) | 3B | 37 | 144 | .242 | .306 | .280 | 65 | .260 | 1/0 |
| Justin Ruggiano | (R) | CF | 31 | 142 | .230 | .312 | .444 | 107 | .268 | 5/1 |
| Marcell Ozuna | (R) | RF | 22 | 49 | .326 | .367 | .500 | 139 | .368 | 0/0 |
| Greg Dobbs | (L) | 1B | 34 | 129 | .209 | .287 | .261 | 54 | .237 | 0/1 |
| Rob Brantly | (L) | C | 23 | 95 | .229 | .316 | .313 | 76 | .279 | 0/0 |
| Derek Dietrich | (R) | 2B | 23 | 11 | .364 | .364 | .727 | 194 | .375 | 0/0 |
| Adeiny Hechavarria | (R) | SS | 24 | 91 | .179 | .242 | .345 | 61 | .183 | 0/0 |
Your guess is as good as mine as to what the actual batting order will be. Marlin skipper Mike Redmond has only used the same lineup twice. Justin Ruggiano leads the team with seven homeruns, including one against Tony Cingrani and another against Aroldis Chapman. Derek Dietrich and Marcell Ozuna are up from AA to help the depleted major league roster.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
| Date/Time | Name | ERA | xFIP | WHIP | BABIP | HR/9 | BB/9 | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tues. 7:10pm | Ricky Nolasco (R) | 3.72 | 3.99 | 1.16 | .264 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 6.3 |
| Homer Bailey (R) | 3.83 | 3.21 | 1.25 | .302 | 0.9 | 3.0 | 8.9 | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wed. 7:10pm | Alex Sanabia (R) | 4.85 | 5.39 | 1.72 | .323 | 1.4 | 4.6 | 5.1 |
| Mike Leake (R) | 4.32 | 4.16 | 1.49 | .336 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 6.0 | |
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Thurs. 7:10pm | Jose Fernandez (R) | 3.65 | 3.20 | 1.16 | .274 | 0.7 | 3.4 | 9.5 |
| Mat Latos (R) | 3.04 | 3.53 | 1.27 | .315 | 0.9 | 2.5 | 8.4 |
Ricky Nolasco was the only Marlins starter not to face Cincinnati earlier this season. He faced the Reds twice last year, giving up 3 runs in each start, but didn’t walk a Reds batter in those 13 innings while striking out nine. Nolasco is coming off a strong start in San Diego where he struck out more than 9 batters in a game for the first time since May 2011.
Alex Sanabia left this last start after 4.1 innings with right groin tightness. Sanabia is yet to pitch 7 complete innings in a game this year. In his first series against Cincinnati, he allowed 6 hits, 5 walks, and 6 runs over 6 innings.
With the Reds rotation shuffle, we miss out on the Tony Cingrani-Jose Fernandez rematch. Fernandez’s worst start of the season (4ip, 5 runs, 6h, 3bb) came in Great American Ballpark. The 20-year old Fernandez is pitching off back-to-back quality starts, where he walked 3 and struck out 16 in 13 innings.
BULLPEN
While the Marlins rotation has actually been league average, the Marlins bullpen has not been as good. Reds batters will need to be patient when they get into the Marlins bullpen. Marlins relievers walk about four batters every nine innings. They’ve allowed 37% of inherited runners to score (league average is 31%; Reds IRS% is 24%).
Closer Steve Cishek is being reserved for save situations, hence he has the fewest innings of anyone in the Marlins bullpen. He didn’t pick up his first save of the year until April 19th in Cincinnati. In his 15 innings, Cishek has given up 12 hits, including 2 homeruns, 7 walks, and struck out 17.