Philadelphia Phillies (21-24) at Miami Marlins (13-32)
Tyler Cloyd (0-0, 2.84 ERA) v. Jose Fernandez (2-2, 3.48 ERA)
TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Weather: 77, mostly cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook
BREAK UP THE POWERHOUSE MARLINS!!!
Apparently this Miami Marlins team is supposed to be pretty bad. You wouldn’t know it from watching the Phillies last three contests against the Fish, in which they were outscored 21-3. It’s no wonder then that four of the Marlins 13 wins (30.7%) have come against the Phils this year. Last night’s loss may have been the most frustrating of the season, as the Phils wasted an otherwise dominant outing from Cole Hamels by once again forgetting to bring the lumber.
If you’re looking for a reprieve tonight, you’ve come to the wrong place. That’s because the man on the mound for Miami has flatout owned the Phillies so far this season. For that reason, you probably already know the name Jose Fernandez. He’s an unpolished rookie with a very high ceiling, who has been an otherwise pedestrian pitcher this year, except when facing the Phils. In fact, if you remove Fernandez’s two starts against the Phils–in which he’s held them scoreless over 6 innings and 7 innings, respectively–he would have a 4.94 ERA. That’s right. Simply facing the Phils has saved Fernandez a cool run and a half on his ERA. That needs to change tonight.
Starting for the Phils is Tyler Cloyd, who’s making is second start of the season in place of the injured Roy Halladay. In Cloyd’s first start, a couple weeks ago in Arizona, he pitched well enough to get a win. Though his numbers looked pretty good, for those who watched the game, it seemed apparent Cloyd had been let off the hook by Arizona. He left a few balls over the plate, and Arizona failed to capitalize. While it’s always a slippery slope to delve to deep into statistics after one outing, Cloyd’s 4.56 xFIP suggests there is going to be quite a bit of regression over the long haul, if the Phils continue to go with him. For now, he has a (supposedly) weak Marlins lineup to deal with, and he should be able to handle them.
Despite speculation on this website that Howard could be headed for a DL stint, he returns to the lineup and is batting cleanup tonight.
Lineup: Rollins SS, Utley 2B, M. Young 3B, Howard 1B, D. Young RF, Brown LF, Revere CF, Kratz C, Cloyd P
GAMEDAY BEER: Shiner Red Ruby
When you think of Florida, what’s the first fruit you think of? If you said oranges, you are 100% correct. But the second fruit you’d probably associate with the Sunshine State would be grapefruit, as Florida is one of the world’s largest exporters of the tart citrus fruit. The idea behind Shiner’s Red Ruby is to give you a hint of that grapefruit taste in your beer. Combined with the a strong malt taste, the beer has a citrus aftertaste, and a subtle bitterness. It’s definitely a summertime beer, which goes great in Florida, or on an 80 degree, humid night in Philly. – RD
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