Phillies Opposition Roadblock: Miami Marlins
It is getting more and more difficult to watch this Phillies team struggle every day. They are heading into a stretch of what should be winnable games. However, is there such a thing for a team approaching what seems like an eternity of consecutive series losses?
On the road again. Once again, I have to apologize for missing a game and getting to your roadblock article late. We should be getting back on track now that the holiday is a bit in the rearview mirror. It feels as though the Phillies are just really struggling to find traction at all. Having two guys as important as Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco struggling is really hurting them. Now they head into the heat of Miami in hopes of finding a groove.
Zack Cosart was not instrumental in the Sunday home run derby but was still effective throughout the series. In Saturday’s Cincy loss, he was 4-for-4 with a double, homer, and two RBI. On Sunday, he went 1-5 with a strikeout. His defense seemed as solid as ever, being a key to multiple double plays in big spots.
Phils Grade: C+
The Phillies handled Bronson Arroyo just fine on Saturday. In his five innings of work, Arroyo gave up five hits (three solo homers) while walking one and striking out four. While it was not the breakout game the Phillies were looking for, they were still able to get some key big flies from some of their struggling bats.
Phils Grade: B-
The Team: Miami Marlins
The last time the Phillies saw Miami, they were in the midst of breaking out a bit as a team. They lost the only two games against the Phils that week amidst the craziness of the NFL Draft. In those games, Phillies pitchers held the Marlins to six total runs.
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Since then, the Marlins have gone 8-20. They are currently two games ahead of the Phillies in the standings at 19-30. Expectations were a bit higher heading into this season.
The offense has plenty of firepower, but has not really found a groove at all. They rank 22nd overall in runs scored. Their .737 OPS is 17th in baseball and the 57 homers are also right smack in the middle of the league as well.
With hitters like Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton, one would think the Marlins would be much higher in these categories.
The pitching end of things has also been a struggle. With a team ERA at 4.74, they are in the bottom three in the sport. The batting average against them is also right in the middle of the league. In 427 innings heading into the series, the Marlins have only struck out 269 hitters.
It is a battle of the division’s worst to start the week, and we can only hope the Phillies make the best of it.
Position Player: Marcell Ozuna
This time around, I will go with the other Marlin outfielder, Marcell Ozuna. I spent the last series with ole’ faithful, Giancarlo Stanton, but Ozuna has put together quite a season as we get ready to leave the month of May.
He leads the team in multiple categories and gets better and better every year. His .313 average, 35 RBI, .385 OBP, 57 hits, .940 OPS, and 22 walks are all the best on the team. The right hander’s twelve homers are good enough for second on the team. This season, he is a .358 hitter at home with eight home runs. Over his last seven games, Ozuna is 7-21 with two doubles and a homer.
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In 61 career games against the Phils, he has hit .300/.344/.463 with seven homers and 29 RBI. This year (including the current game), the Phils have held him in check. He is currently 0-11 against the Phillies in 2017. However, I do not expect that to last throughout the course of this long season.
Right now, there is no point in even wasting time throwing him a fastball unless it is purposely thrown out of the zone. He is just lighting up fastballs that find any part of the plate. Breaking balls are the way to go with Ozuna right now. Anything that moves or changes speeds are the pitches the 26-year-old is having trouble figuring out right now.
The Phils are hoping to keep the 2017 success against Ozuna going while grabbing a couple wins in South Beach.
The Pitcher: Dan Straily
With Edinson Volquez throwing tonight and the fact I have already written about him, this series gives me the easy choice. Dan Straily has actually been the Marlins best pitcher during the first two months of baseball.
Straily currently leads Miami’s starters in wins (three), ERA (3.83), and strikeouts (54). His 54 innings pitched are also tops on the Marlin staff. He has walked 24 hitters through those 54 innings though, which is second on the team behind Volquez’s 29 free passes.
The righty has only gotten through the sixth inning twice this season. And both times, he reached seven full innings. More interesting, however, is the idea that Straily has only allowed more than three earned runs twice in his ten starts.
Six of the current Phils have faced the 28-year-old and most have had at least one hit off him. Maikel Franco, Freddy Galvis, Odubel Herrera, and Michael Saunders all have one hit off him. Meanwhile, Howie Kendrick has five hits in 17 at-bats against him. It makes sense since Straily spent some time in the AL West.
Straily has been very good at home this season. Six of his games have been home starts. In those six games, Straily has posted 33 innings with a 2-1 record and a 2.45 ERA in that time. He has logged 29 Ks and 14 walks in those games as well. Opposing teams have only hit .150 against Straily in those starts.
The pitches he throws are all predicated on his fastball. He mixes in a slider, change, and curveball. His fastball-slider combination is where he finds most of his outs. As a matter of fact, 45 of his 54 strikeouts have come from one of those pitches. Of his top three pitches (based on usage), the changeup is the one that teams hit most often, but they are only hitting .207 against it.
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Although not a hard-thrower, averaging low-90s on his fastball, Straily has found ways to be effective this season. The struggling Phils will be hoping to face him with a chance for their first series win in what seems like an eternity.