Meanwhile, In Miami, Baseball Continued

Amongst all the trade deadline distractions, the Marlins took a 7-1 loss against the Braves yesterday. They managed to lose in spite of stealing more bases in a single game than they had since 2002. By somehow managing to score only one run in the game, they matched a dubious feat last performed by the St. Louis Browns 98 years ago.

The Marlins stranded eight runners, and posted a dismal 1-12 team RISP.

Ricky Nolasco had a rough outing, giving up six earned run on eight hits and one walk. In his 5 1/3 inning appearance, he struck out three, but gave up four runs on two home runs. The bullpen did the best they could with what they had to work with, yielding only one slump-busting solo home run to Jason Heyward.

Again, a poor outing by a back-of-the-rotation starter shouldn’t necessarily spell disaster for a game.  Failing to score more than one run after packing the bases for five innings? Costly. Once again, the lack of timely hitting was the downfall of what is otherwise a decent team.

If Loria & Co. really are making the changes as they profess, it’s clear that they need to put on the buyer’s hat and bring in three players that can put the bat on the ball in a timely manner.

After a day off to travel to the west coast, the Marlins have a three-game series with the Padres before once again facing the Braves in Atlanta. The road trip continues in Washington and New York. On August 10th, Hanley Ramirez will make his first appearance in Marlins Park as a Dodger.

The Padres are also in fourth place and trailing by about the same margin as the Marlins.  Carlos Zambrano is scheduled to open the festivities against Kip Wells. Preseason pundits predicted every behavior under the sun for Big Z except his actual behavior.  He has been unflappable, and has had a terrific year.

Prediction: Marlins by two, in a low-scoring game.