Series Preview: @Pittsburgh Pirates
By Michael Jong
The Marlins continue their tour through the NL Central, as they come to beautiful PNC Park for a four-game set versus the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Marlins have struggled versus Pittsburgh before, which is odd given the Pirates’ current state of affairs. Hopefully, the club can turn it around this time.
Florida Marlins @ Cincinnati Reds (64-51), August 10-12, Games 111-113
NL East Standings
Stadium: PNC Park
Five-year Run PF*: 0.99
Five-year HR PF*: 0.94
Stadium Dimensions:
Left Field: 325 ft.
Left-Center: 383
Center Field: 410
Right-Center: 375
Right Field: 320
*Five-year regressed park factors provided by Patriot here
August 16: Chris Volstad vs. James McDonald
August 17: Ricky Nolasco vs. Zach Duke
August 18: Josh Johnson vs. Ross Ohlendorf
August 19: Sean West vs. Paul Maholm
ZiPS In-Season Projections
FIP | Proj. FIP | Win% | Marlins | Date | Reds | Win% | Proj. FIP | FIP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.53 | 4.61 | .449 | Volstad | August 16 | McDonald | .422 | 4.88 | 2.66 |
3.87 | 3.69 | .553 | Nolasco | August 17 | Duke | .479 | 4.33 | 4.91 |
2.33 | 2.84 | .662 | Johnson | August 18 | Ohlendorf | .442 | 4.68 | 4.45 |
5.45 | 5.27 | .385 | West | August 19 | Maholm | .522 | 3.95 | 4.39 |
Projected Lineup
Lineup | Player | Current wOBA | Proj. wOBA v. RHP | Proj. wOBA v. LHP |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Hanley Ramirez | .359 | .392 | .407 |
2 | Logan Morrison | .334 | — | — |
3 | Gaby Sanchez | .358 | .339 | .363 |
4 | Dan Uggla | .390 | .364 | .376 |
5 | Mike Stanton | .391 | — | — |
6 | Cody Ross | .315 | .327 | .361 |
7 | Wes Helms | .293 | .294 | .321 |
8 | Ronny Paulino | .291 | .298 | .333 |
Notes
– Josh Johnson will make the third start of this series, and hopefully he can make it look better than his last one. The Cincinnati Reds start was awful, or at least awfully unlucky.
– Wes Helms cannot have a tenuous grip on the third base job, but he is holding onto it mostly because the Marlins’ next option is Donnie Murphy.
– Mike Stanton has been moved up to fifth in the lineup thanks to his hot streak. Ross has struggled this season anyway, so it isn’t a terrible move. Manager Edwin Rodriguez also mentioned that Hanley Ramirez will be leading off for the rest of the season.
Bold Prediction: Marlins win three out of four games