Marlins Sweep Doubleheader versus Mets

On Tuesday, the Marlins upped their record in double-headers to 6-1 by winning both games against the New York Mets. These two seven-inning contests were decided off of the Marlins’ stellar pitching in combination with timely hitting. The Marlins won game one 4-0 and game two 3-0. This Marlins sweep of the Mets moved the Fish to 14-11, now only 0.5 games out of first place.

Daniel Castano led the charge in game 1, throwing 4 ⅔ shutout innings on 6 hits and 3 walks. Bleier picked up the win out of the pen, whereas Boxberger and Kintzler sealed the deal in the 6th and 7th innings respectively. The pitching continues to look strong after the rest day at home before this road trip started.

Miguel Rojas picked up where he left off, smashing an early two-run single that turned out to be all the Marlins would need. Brian Anderson recorded his first two doubles of the year. This points to a bigger Marlins trend of reliance on pitching.

Looking past the anomalies of their 11-8 win against Washington and their 14-11 win against Toronto, the Marlins have struggled to win games when their pitching isn’t lights out. This team has struggled to consistently put 5 or more runs on the board, and on nights when the pitching runs out of steam, there is cause for concern.

Trevor Rogers made his MLB debut in game 2 of the double-header, he pitched 4 shutout innings, allowing only 1 hit and 5 walks. Josh A. Smith and Nick Vincent closed the door with 3 shutout innings out of the bullpen to cap off 14 innings of shutout baseball. Brain Anderson’s 2-RBI double gave them the lead, and Jon Berti’s stealing home sealed the deal.

Another set of games decided heavily on whether the Marlins bullpen is on or off. For both games, they pulled through, but it is evident that as more time without rest passes for the bullpen, the Marlins could be susceptible to another skid similar to the 5-game one they ended in D.C. The Marlins next day off is September 3rd.

Looking ahead, the Marlins bring Elieser Hernandez (1-0, 2.29 ERA) to the mound tomorrow in game 3 of the 4 game series versus Jacob deGrom (2-0, 1.93 ERA). The Marlins struggled versus deGrom earlier in the season and have heavily struggled against him throughout his entire career.