Sorry about the inconsistencies of getting these up before the games lately, I promise that I will do a better job from here on out. Hopefully the Marlins can do a better job of winning ballgames as well, especially in the month of June. The Miami Marlins have gone from the hottest team in baseball in the month of May to ice cold halfway through the month of June.

Last season, the Marlins set a team record for the lowest winning percentage going 5-23 (.179) in the month of June. This season, the team has gotten off to a 3-9 start, losing eight of their nine past ballgames. The past two seasons, the Marlins have gone a combined 8-32 in the month of June. Maybe we call Bud Selig and ask him to cancel games for the Marlins in June?

The Marlins will look to end their June struggles against a team, that last week in Miami, swept the Marlins in a three game series. The Marlins will travel to Tampa to take on the Rays. In case you are unsure of how Tampa looks, Hanley Ramirez was gracious enough to tweet a picture for all of us:

The Citrus Series: Take Two!

The Marlins and Rays have squared off 82 times in their team history’s. The Marlins took 34 of the first 55 games, but that team from Tampa has gone 19-8 against the Marlins since 2008. In those games since 2008, the Rays have outscored the Marlins 159-105 and out-hit them .274 to .230. The Rays have swept the Marlins twice in the past five seasons.

A series that the Marlins once lead 34-21 has dwindled down to a 42-40 lead for the Miami Marlins. The Rays have been the superior team in Florida baseball for a while now, and it is showing in the head-to-head series. The Marlins need to start turning things around, starting this series with the Rays.

Stadium: Tropicana Field

Five-year Run PF*: N/A
Five-year HR PF*: N/A
Stadium Dimensions:
Left field line—315 ft.
Left-center field—371 ft.
Center field—407 ft.
Right-center field—371 ft.
Right field line—322 ft.

*Five-year regressed park factors provided by Patriot here

Head to Head

Miami Marlins 32-31

Tampa Bay Rays 35-28

The Marlins have been outscored 40-13 during a seven-game losing streak in the Citrus Series, batting .186 in those contests – .111 with runners in scoring position. They were outscored 22-7 by the Rays last weekend. The Marlins struggles against the Rays start from their own pitching. Marlins pitchers have had a tough time getting Rays hitters out when they need to. That needs to change this series, the Rays are not a strong offensive team.

Probable Starters
Carlos Zambrano, RHP	2012 stats 76.0 Innings Pitched 68.2 4-4 Wins-Losses 3-5 3.55 Earned Run Average 4.59 32 Walks 33 57 Strikeouts 71 98 Pitches Per Start 102 Career vs. opponent 9.0 Innings Pitched 6.0 0-2 Wins-Losses 1-0 11.00 Earned Run Average 6.00	Matt Moore, LHP

This is actually a rematch of the pitching match-up that took place last Saturday in Miami. The Rays came out ahead in that game, despite Matt Moore allowing four earned runs in six innings. Moore actually pitched six scoreless innings last time, but struggled in the seventh inning, as he allowed four runs. At that point, the Rays had a big enough lead for those runs not to matter in the outcome of the game. Moore, the rookie left-hander, is 2-3 with a 4.37 ERA at Tropicana Field this season.

Carlos Zambrano is trying to bounce back from his shortest and worst outing of the season. Big Z only lasted 2 1/3 innings and gave up seven runs. Zambrano was fighting back stiffness and did not have his control last time out. Zambrano struck out only one hitter and allowed three walks. Zambrano owns a 0.88 ERA on the road this season. The Marlins hope Zambrano’s back reacts well, as he tries to bounce back from his worst outing of the season.

Marlins Lineup

The Marlins lineup has been a drag to watch. The team has gotten ample amount of base runners recently, the team has just struggled to drive those runners home. On that recent homestand, Hanley Ramirez only picked up two hits. Before the homestand, Hanley was on fire on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies, hitting three home runs in two games. The Marlins hope that this road trip can bring back Hanley’s swing. Ramirez is hitting .315/.397/.504 (.387 wOBA) at home and just .195/.258/.416 (.299 wOBA) on the road, so getting away from home has not always been a solution for Ramirez in 2012.

Hanley is not the only Marlins hitter struggling, in the month of June, Stanton has a line of .222/.300/.378, while striking out 33 percent of his at-bats. The Marlins are only going to go as far as Stanton carries them. He carried that team on his back in May, when he won player of the month. The Marlins need a better month from him going forward. Logan Morrison has not drawn a walk this month and Gaby Sanchez is still not hitting since his return. After a hot start to the season, Omar Infante is hitting just .217 this month.

It is not all bad news on the Marlins hitting front, although most of it is, as Jose Reyes has been on fire this month. Reyes has a line of .333/.407/.625 in the month of June. Reyes has hit his first two home runs of the 2012 campaign this month as well.

Prediction:

I hate to say this, but I do not have a good feeling about this game. Zambrano will struggle against the Rays offense again, as he will only last four innings for the Marlins. Matt Moore will win his third consecutive game, behind a very strong start. Ben Zobrist will go deep off of Marlins pitching again, as the Rays win this ballgame 8-2.