March 16, 2013; Port St Lucie, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Kevin Slowey (45) throws against the New York Mets in the spring training game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

Being able to get out of trouble is a necessity at times if a pitcher is going to be effective and Slowey proved to be quite the escape artist all afternoon.  The trouble started promptly in the first inning as the first two hitters reached base for the Red Sox, but Slowey was able to induce a double play ball from third hitter Dustin Pedroia before getting the final out of the inning.  The lone run allowed came in the second inning on a home run allowed to Sox leftfielder Jonny Gomes.  In the fourth inning, Slowey again allowed the first two Red Sox hitters to reach base before retiring the next three.  The pattern continued an inning later as the fifth began with a lead off single for the Red Sox, but Slowey promptly picked the baserunner off at first base and was able to escape the inning without giving up any runs.

The start did not go according to the game plan Slowey had coming into the day as I doubt he imagined himself giving up two baserunners to start the game and then inducing a double play.   He definitely could not have expected to get an out on a pick off, but outs count the same no matter how you are able to get them.  In the end, Slowey did the most important thing a starting pitcher must do by limiting the opposing team to a single run and giving his team a chance to win.

The offense for the Marlins came from an unlikely source as minor league outfielder Daniel Pertusati, getting his first action with the big club this spring, drove in four of the Marlins five runs.  Pertusati came in to replace Gorkys Hernandez in the third inning and delivered a two-run double in the seventh inning. Then with Marlins runners on second and third and two outs in the ninth, he again came through with a two-run line drive single to center.  The other Marlins run came on a sacrifice fly by recently signed catcher Koyie Hill.  Chris Valaika collected two hits and scored twice while Adeiny Hechavarria also had two hits including a double.

Up Next:  The Marlins return to Roger Dean Stadium to face the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.  Promising left handed pitching prospect Justin Nicolino is expected to get the start.  Nicolino was one of the prospects acquired from the Blue Jays in the offseason trade. Our editor Ehsan Kassim ranked Nicolino as the Marlins fourth best prospect.

Before signing Lyle Oberbay, Boston had an NL team offer toget them Chris Coghlan from Miami in 3-way. .850-.595 4-yr. OPS scary.

— Peter Gammons (@pgammo) February 1, 2013

Chris Coghlan has been nothing short of a disappointment over the course of the past few seasons, since his breakout Rookie of the Year season. In that season, Coghlan posted a .321/.390/.460 with a wOBA of .374. Coghlan posted a 2.8 WAR in that season in 565 plate appearances, but his numbers were inflated due to his obscenely high BABIP of .365.

Has Chris Coghlan’s time in Miami run its course? Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

From that point on, Coghlan never returned to the level Marlins fans wanted him to be on. Since his rookie season, Coghlan has posted a stat line of .238/.306.351 with a wOBA of .291 in over 800 plate appearances. Injuries have plagued him since that time as well.

With Coghlan being in his final per-arbitration season and likely out of minor league options, he would have to hope to latch onto the Marlins 25-man roster to start the season, or risk being traded/released by the Marlins.

Either way, after a promising start to his career with the Marlins, Chris Coghlan has come crashing down, on a rapid pace.

The Marlins have lost 11 of their 15 games that they have played this month. The team is currently sitting at the .500 mark at 33 and 33. Fortunately, the Marlins still only trail the division leading Washington Nationals by 6 games. I know, with the Marlins have played as of late, that six game deficit looks bigger then it should.

Tonight, the Marlins will be in Boston to take on the Red Sox, for the second time this season. The Red Sox won two out of the three games in Miami. It’s been a struggle, but if you are looking for a sliver lining, the Marlins, during their slump, played their best baseball against the Boston Red Sox. Yes, they were outscored 13-7 in that series, but they were in the final two games, but the last one got away in the eight inning.

The Marlins are only a hot week or two from jumping right back into the thick of the National East race. They can start by winning this series and returning home to start a winning streak.

The key to winning for the Marlins, get some runners across this base right here.

Stadium: Fenway Park

April 20, 2012; Boston, MA, USA; The score board on the green monster with details about the 100th anniversary celebration before the game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees at Fenway Park. (Image: Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE)

Five-year Run PF*: N/A
Five-year HR PF*: N/A
Stadium Dimensions:
Left field line—315 ft.
Left-center field—379 ft.
Center field—420 ft.
Right-center field—380 ft.
Right field line—302 ft.

*Five-year regressed park factors provided by Patriot here

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My thinking is, it cannot get any worse then it did. Maybe the pressure of trying to match the excitement that the Miami Heat brought night in and out got to the Marlins. The team has already lost 8 games in the month of June, 13 days in. The Marlins lost 8 games in all of May.

Marlins lefty reliever, Randy Choate, bites his glove in frustration of his rough outing. (Image: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE)

The game last night was nothing short of misery. The Marlins had no hits through five innings, and by that time were already trailing the Boston Red Sox 4-0.

Source: FanGraphs

Trailing 4-1 in the bottom half of the seventh inning, the Marlins had a chance to get back into the game. Of course, like they have in the past, the Marlins failed to convert on this opportunity. Hanley Ramirez led the inning of with a single. Giancarlo Stanton followed with a double, to set the Marlins up with runners on second and third, nobody out.

At the plate was the Marlins most consistent hitter the first two months of the season, Omar Infante. Unfortunately, the calendar no longer reads April/May and Infante is not swinging the bat as well as he did those months. Infante popped out for the first out of the inning. Infante’s pop out was a glimpse into the Marlins bad hitting with runners in scoring position. The way the next out happened was indicative of the Marlins overall state of mind, frustration, and boneheaded mistakes.

Justin Ruggiano hit a ground ball to the short stop. The Red Sox were playing their infield back and were allowing Hanley to score either way. The Marlins would have still been setup with Stanton on second and Gaby Sanchez up. Instead, Stanton made a boneheaded decision to advance to third on a ball hit right in front of him. He was easily thrown out, and the momentum for the Marlins comeback was as well.

Stanton, after a hot May, looks on with a puzzled look, as he has struggled with his bat and concentration in June. (Image: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE)

The Red Sox would score six runs, all earned, and did so off of three different pitchers (Gaudin, Choate, and Webb) in the top of the eight inning to put any chances of a Marlins comeback to rest. But that does not mean there was no more Marlins drama involved.

In the top half of the ninth inning, after Heath Bell struck out Will Middlebrooks for the second out of the inning, Ozzie Guillen decided to end the night for his closer. Bell was not too happy with this decision, and the two had a shouting match on the mound.

Fortunately for Marlins fans, this seemed to be just frustration for the loss, as both Bell and Guillen said they apologized to each other and everything should be fine.

Ricky Nolasco was the starter for the Marlins on this evening, he pitched a decent game Nolasco (L, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO), but it was not enough, as the Marlins offense continued to struggle.

June 11, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Josh Johnson (55) throws during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

Sometimes, when you’re stuck in the middle of the wrong kind of streak, you start thinking about what you can do to shake the curse. Think of the lengths that caddy Romeo Posar (Cheech Marin)went to to shake up Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) in Tin Cup; moving his loose change to the other pocket, etc. Ultimately, what Cup had to do was relax and clear his mind.

Maybe opening the roof last night was the trick.  Maybe Josh Johnson channeled Nuke LaLoosh and was wearing his girlfriend’s garter belt under his uni. Most likely, however, is that he was able to relax and trust his arm and his mechanics.

Either way, he had an outstanding performance last night, limiting the visiting Red Sox to one run in seven innings.  Giving up one earned run and one walk, he fanned seven, moving his ERA to 4.27 for the season. His fastball was on the high side of his average, tapping 95, and with good movement.

Fortunately, he had run support early in the game.  A leadoff triple from Jose Reyes and a sac. fly from Donovan Solano started a three-run first inning when Reyes scored.  Giancarlo Stanton looped a Texas-Leaguer to center field, followed by Logan Morrison belting a line drive to right field. Heads-up baserunning from Giancarlo Stanton tallied the second run on an Adrian Gonzalez bobble. Morrison crossed the plate on a right-field single by Gaby Sanchez.

John Buck opened the second inning with a single, and was sacrificed over to third by Josh Johnson and Jose Reyes. A base hit by Donovan Solano drove in the fourth and final run for the Marlins.

After the early-inning shelling, Josh Beckett demonstrated his precise, consistent pitching to hold the Fish to the four runs from the first two innings, ending his outing with three earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts after seven innings.

The Marlins sent in Steve Cishek for a scoreless eighth.  He retired the first two batters before giving up a base hit to Scott Podsednik, and ended the inning on a soft grounder from Dustin Pedroia.  Heath Bell came in for the ninth-inning save, his thirteenth of the season.   Despite a leadoff walk to Adrian Gonzalez, Bell struck out the next three batters: David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Kevin Youkilis. Game over.

This afternoon, left-hander Clay Buchholz squares off against righty Mark Buehrle. Buchholz brings a 6-2 record with a 5.77 ERA to Buehrle’s 5-6, 3.49 record. With the six-loss streak put to bed and behind them, the Marlins should be fired up and ready to put the bats to work.

Prediction: 6-2 Marlins, with no Red Sox runs after the third inning. Also, the home run feature will light up for either Hanley Ramirez or Giancarlo Stanton (although it would  be nice to see Gaby notch a “welcome home” dinger).