Marlins Lose Series VS Boston

The Marlins played the Red Sox in game 3 of a 3 game set. The Red Sox pulled away late, leading them to a 5-3 victory. Nathan Eovaldi got the win for the Sox, and Jose Urena got the loss for the Marlins. Minus the one huge mistake that Johan Quezada gave up in the 7th inning, the Marlins played a solid game of baseball; however, the real issue is that they lost a series versus a sub .500 team when they are on the verge of their first playoff berth in 17 years.

Jose Urena looks like a playoffs pitcher

Yes, technically, Jose Urena got the loss yesterday, but he pitched 5 spotless innings before he gave up 2 runs in the 5th inning. If the bullpen would have kept it scoreless, the Marlins would have pulled off a 3-2 victory. Urena is looking reminiscent of his 2017 self, the only consistent pitcher on the Marlins. Oh boy, how times have changed. The bullpen looked fine last night with the exception of Rafael Devers’ moonshot 3-run home run given up by Quezada. It happens. The pitching looks to bounce back and have a solid 5-game set at home versus the Nationals.

The Marlins deceptively rough hitting night

3 runs on 7 hits don’t seem like the worst night of hitting, especially with a pitcher like Nathan Eovaldi on the opposing bump. What sticks out to me is that the Marlins left 19 on base. 19 possible runs… gone. Especially as we draw closer to the end of the season, games like this cannot happen. The marlins need to play as if this is the playoffs. They are not locked by any stretch of the mean, and if the hitting can’t drive runners in, then they may be in trouble. 

Looking ahead

The Marlins have 12 games remaining this season. They will play the first 5 at home against the Washington Nationals. This is obviously a huge series and one that compares in importance to the 7-game series versus the Phillies. Neither team has announced a starter for either double-header game.