With the 5-0 win Tuesday night, the Marlins tied the season series with the Mariners at one apiece. The shutout was a good redemption to the dud showing on Monday, where they gave up eight hits (three of which were homers) to Seattle, en route to a 6-1 loss.
Wei-Yin Chen (2-0, 3.94 ERA) started on the mound for Miami. He threw for seven innings and didn’t give up a run or a hit, while striking and walking two. Additionally, 19 of his pitches were either a ground ball or a fly ball.
The Marlins’ batters went 10-for-35 in the victory. Designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton had no hits in his four at-bats, but his teammates picked up the slack nicely, particularly Derek Dietrich and Justin Bour, who provided a lot despite coming in with a combined .155 batting average. The two basemen went 4-for-7 for two RBIs and two runs – Bour had a two-run homer in the 3rd inning.
Dee Gordon and Marcell Ozuna are pacing the team in offensive production this season, with the latter currently having a league-leading 18 RBIs, while also tying for third in homeruns, with five.
Starting next for the Marlins is Edinson Volquez. The 12-year veteran seems to thrive when facing the Mariners, as he owns a 5-0 record and a 2.66 ERA against them overall.
The Mariners failed to provide a follow-up on Monday’s great series-opening win, as starter Yovani Gallardo (0-2, 6.19 ERA) struggled all throughout, allowing four earned runs on nine hits over six innings. He only struck out three.
The defeat halted the Mariners’ four-game winning streak.
Gallardo wasn’t alone in being terrible, though. Seattle was only able to hit once in 28 total at-bats in the game, which is unfortunately becoming normal this season. In fact, despite the recent string of strong outings, the team is still batting below .230 so far, and it ranks them inside the bottom ten in the league.
Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, and Nelson Cruz, who, as you may know, garner heavy expectations year in, year out, are currently producing one of their lowest batting numbers in their careers.
Felix Hernandez (1-1, 2.95 ERA) will be the Mariners’ starter for the series finale. The former Cy Young awardee has thrown for 18.1 innings on the young season, giving up six earned runs on 21 hits and no walks, while also striking out 15. Further, “King Felix” is 2-0 when facing Miami. He has 19 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.
