Turner Improves

Mar 9, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jacob Turner (33) throws in the second inning during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Jacob Turner made his second start of the spring Saturday, his second time facing off against the St. Louis Cardinals. His first start did not go to well, as he gave up six runs in one-third of an inning. On Saturday, Turner looked a lot better for the Marlins.

This time, Turner was stretched out for three innings and was able to shut the Cardinals lineup down. Turner struck out two batters in the outing and allowed only one walk, which was an improvement over his three walks and no strikeouts in his first start. Turner only allowed two hits in this one as well.

His spring ERA currently sits at 16.20, but the Marlins are going to ignore that number as long as he pitches like he did Saturday.

The Marlins pitching staff performed very well in the loss. The Marlins struck out five batters and walked just two, minus reliever Chris Hatcher. Hatcher allowed four hit,  including a two-run double to Pete Kozma, which were the only runs of the game for the Cardinals side. Hatcher has not looked good this spring and his pitching career looks as bright right now as his previous catching career did.

Offense Struggles Again

The Marlins offense could only come up with five hits and struck out ten times against the Cardinals dominant pitching. Wainwright was responsible for six of those strikeouts, keeping the Marlins hitters off balance in his 4 2/3 innings. He seemed to be in mid-season form in this one.

The only player for the Marlins to do well in this one was second baseman, Donovan Solano. Solano was 2-for-3 with his first extra base hit of the season, a double off of Wainwright in the first inning. He currently owns a .542/.542/.591 line as of right now, easily one of the Marlins top hitters so far this spring.

Up next: The Marlins will face off  with the Atlanta  Braves at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. Wade LeBlanc, competing for the fifth-starter spot, gets the nod. The lefty has thrown five scoreless innings this spring for the Marlins, with six strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Atlanta will counter with Tim Hudson.

Here is a look at the Marlins lineup for the game:

#Marlins at ATL: Yelich LF, Figgins 2B, Downs 3B, Mahoney 1B, Ozuna RF, Coghlan LF, Green SS, Skipworth C, Gorkys CF, LeBlanc P

— Juan C. Rodriguez (@JCRMarlinsbeat) March 10, 2013

What we are doing today is we are going to grade each teams position players and see if one team has a significant advantage over another based on the projections. We will do this by grading each position. The top players at each position will receive 4 points, second best 3 points, third best 2 points, and fourth best 1 point. Let us go ahead and get started.

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Series Hero: Omar Infante (0.363 WPA)
Series Goat: No one in particular
Impressed by: Omar Infante (10 PA, 6 H, 1 3B, 2 HR, 0 BB, 2 K)
Depressed by: No one in particular

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