Tag Archive for: tampa bay

Marlins Finally Beat Rays

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The Marlins and Rays faced off in game 2 of a 3 game series at Tampa Bay. Coming into last night’s game, the Rays were 4-0 against the Marlins on the season. With their ace Blake Snell on the mound, they looked to up it to 5. Sandy Alcantara and a slowly-waking up Marlins’ lineup had something to say about it. The Marlins won 7-3, improving to 17-17, while the Rays dropped to 27-13 on the year.

Sandy is back!

Since coming off his stint on the IL from COVID-19, Sandy Alcantara has had two starts: both against the Rays. The starts have been “A Tale of Two Cities”- esque. In his first start back a little under a week ago, he allowed 5 earned runs in 4 innings pitched while only striking out 2 in a 7-12 Rays win. Last night, Sandy allowed 1 earned run on 6 innings pitched while striking out 8. Without a doubt, Sandy getting back to ace-level will play a major factor for the Marlins the rest of the season. The bullpen looked fine allowing 2 earned over 3 innings of combined work. Luckily for them, this was the first game in a while where the hitting wasn’t totally dependent on them.

Are the bats FINALLY waking up?

I know one 7 run game shouldn’t be enough to ask this question, but that now marks two games in a row scoring 4 or more runs against one of the best teams in the league. Scoring 4 or more tomorrow would tie our longest streak of the season scoring that many runs. Corey Dickerson keeps having stellar at-bats, hitting a 2-run home run to propel the Marlins’ bats forwards. Matt Joyce came up with a clutch with a 2-out 2-RBI single to break it open.

Looking Ahead for the Marlins

The Marlins take on the Rays in the series finale today at 1:10 PM. Trevor Rogers (1-0, 2.00 ERA) takes the mound versus Tyler Glasnow (2-1, 4.24 ERA). It should be a good display of young pitching. Every game remains important for the Marlins as more and more time passes.

Marlins Lose Close Battle with Rays

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The Marlins started another series with the first-place Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Pablo Lopez took the mound for the Fish to start the series versus Josh Fleming of the Rays. The Rays ended up taking a 5-4 victory over the Marlins, upping their season record to 4-0 on the Marlins. The Fish now sit at 16-17, and the Rays up their record 27-12. 

Pitching

Pablo Lopez faltered after a solid start to the season, allowing 5 earned runs in 4 innings pitched capped off with a bases-clearing double off of the bat of Michael Perez. The bullpen remained strong and didn’t allow a single run over their combined 4 innings of work. The hitting couldn’t overcome the 5 runs scored by the Rays, which is a trend I’ve touched upon a lot for this team. The offense is so reliant on the defense that any misstep on the latter’s end leads to a loss.

Hitting

Granted, the offense almost pulled it off. Corey Dickerson and Jesus Aguilar hit solo home runs early on off of Fleming, and Jon Berti came up with a clutch 2-run double. The Marlins left 12 on base and struggled to put anything else on the board. The hitting needs to step up their game if the marlins want to sneak into the playoffs in the Wild Card spot. 

A Look at the NL East

Looking at the NL East, the Atlanta Braves are running away with the division. A 9-1 run by the Phillies has propelled them into a commanding 2nd place position. This means the Marlins are on pace for a Wild Card berth. Although this is obviously a reach, the Marlins are 2/2 on World Series wins, both of which they entered the playoffs as a Wild Card. 

A Look Ahead

Looking ahead, the Marlins play tonight versus the Rays. Sandy Alcantara will take the mound for the Marlins and Blake Snell will pitch for the Rays. Sandy looks to erase his sub-par start last week versus the Rays.