Miami Marlins Game Preview: Game 18 vs Washington Nationals

It’s starting to appear as if the Miami Marlins are finally starting to figure things out. Last night, led by Adeiny Hechavarria and Dee Gordon, the team Miami Marlins defeated the Washington Nationals. The victory was the teams third straight win, a season high.

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Mat Latos pitching into the 7th inning and the bullpen following up with 2 2/3 innings of shutout ball provided a huge boost for the ballclub, which now sits at 6-11. The Marlins gained a game on the New York Mets last night as well, as the Mets fell to the Yankees in the Subway Series.

Despite last night’s win, the Washington Nationals are not going anywhere and the Miami Marlins better be prepared for another tough one tonight.

Trying to ensure a series win for the Marlins, Tom Koehler will be on the mound. In his first 3 starts, Koehler owns a 6.75 ERA and a 6.03 FIP in 14 2/3 innings of work. After striking out over 7 per nine innings a year ago, Koehler has 8 strikeouts in his 14+ innings and has also walked 7 in that span.

Koehler is coming off a horrendous start against the New York Mets last time out, allowing 7 earned runs on 5 hits in 3 1/3 innings of work. He struck out 1 and walked 2 in his worst outing of the season.

If Koehler is unable to turn things around, the Marlins offense will have the pressure of facing one of the première arms in all of baseball. The 26-year old Stephen Strasburg will be on the bump for the Nationals today.

While Strasburg’s ERA coming into this one sits at an ugly (especially for him) 4.50, his FIP coming into the game hovers around 3.03, just a tad bit higher than his career mark of 2.84.

His last time on the mound, against the Philadelphia Phillies, Strasburg struck out 7 and walked 2, allowing one earned run in 7 1/3 innings of work.

Strasburg owns a career 3.44 ERA against the Marlins, but a 5.59 mark at Marlins Park.

Here’s the lineup Redmond will send out against Strasburg today:

Dee Gordon, 2B
Martin Prado, 3B
Giancarlo Stanton, RF
Marcell Ozuna, CF
Justin Bour, 1B
J.T. Realmuto, C
Ichiro Suzuki, LF
Adeiny Hechavarria, SS
Tom Koehler, SP

With Christian Yelich regulated to the 15-day DL, the Marlins are going to lean on Ichiro more than they had initially wanted to. While Yelich wasn’t lighting the world on fire at the plate, Ichiro has a lowly .263/.326/.316 slash line with a 83 wRC+ in 43 plate appearances. Maybe regular playing time will help him find his groove?

Justin Bour will make his 2015 debut for the Marlins today. He’s starting at first, in place of the struggling Michael Morse. Maybe the Marlins feel a day off will give Morse a chance to clear his head and get back to work tomorrow.

Here’s the lineup that Tom Koehler will have to oppose:

(Lineup Coming Soon)

Bryce Harper had a perfect night at the plate Friday, despite his team losing. He had 3 official plate appearances, walking once and singling his other two times up. He also had a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning, stroking that ball to the warning track. He could give Koehler some fits tonight, if he continues to swing well.

Next: Adeiny Leads Marlins to Victory

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