July 4, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Miami Marlins first baseman

Wow.  It was like seeing the same movie again on the next night. Yesterday, battling triple-digit on-field temperatures, and an awful outing by Josh Johnson, the Marlins took an early lead, fell behind in the middle innings, tied things back up late, and went ahead to victory in the 10^th inning.  This time, however, Heath Bell did not (although I sure thought that Corey Hart’s shot was headed that way) give up the long ball, even though the bases were filling up quickly.

Josh Johnson only made it through five innings yesterday, giving up five earned runs on six hits with three walks. The weakest start for Johnson in the last ten, he did not appear to have enough bite on his breaking balls, and his fastball location took some time to dial in. Chad Gaudin, Mike Dunn, Wade LeBlanc, and Heath Bell stepped in to finish the job. The bullpen yielded one run on five hits, with two walks.

After a disastrous 5-run bottom half of the second inning, the game looked to be a letdown through the sixth.  Justin Ruggiano and Logan Morrison changed the forecast considerably in the top of the seventh, bringing the Marlins to within one run on Ruggiano’s solo shot and Morrison’s 3-run round-tripper. During the seventh inning, the telecast broke the news of the Carlos Lee deal (not a great deal, perhaps, but a decent deal. More on that news from Ehsan), and the camera spent considerably more time on Gaby Sanchez as the implications of the trade were discussed.

Despite a hitting meltdown that will be remembered for many years, and the news of a trade almost guaranteed to send him back to the bus leagues, Gaby singled in the seventh, and supplied the final, key piece of the Marlins rally.  In the top of the ninth, with two outs, and an 0-2 count, Gaby Sanchez hit a game-tying home run.

At our house, the table was being cleared, crumbs were being swept, and fingers were poised over remote controls. “Gaby is a guaranteed out” was the universal sentiment. How nice to be so eloquently reminded of the fluid nature of a baseball game. The crack of the bat and the rising pitch of the announcer’s voice reset the entire dynamic of our living room. I’m also very happy for Gaby to be able to finish what will most likely be his last appearance this year as a Marlin on such a strong note.

A Donovan Solano double, followed by a Hanley Ramirez single, put the Marlins ahead by one run in the tenth.  After an adrenalin-inducing double by the speedy Rickie Weeks, Heath Bell struck out Martin Maldonado and pitched an easy 6-3 grounder to Taylor Green to end the game.

Tonight, Mark Buehrle faces rookie Mike Fiers to try and force the Brewers to yield a split for the series. Fiers has a 2.29 ERA, and a 3-2 record over 7 games. He has logged 42 strikeouts and has given up only ten earned runs.  I suspect he will be a tough nut for our hitters to crack.  Also, Mark Buehrle will need to keep the ball away from sluggers like Corey Hart and Ryan Braun.  A 2-2 push on the series may be out of reach, unless guys like Hanley and Ruggiano continue to hit well.  I suspect that the game may roll one way or the other on a single error. But I’m an optimist, so…

Prediction: Marlins by one in the lowest-scoring game of the series.

Final note:  The results of Giancarlo Stanon’s MRI:  “loose bodies” in his knee.  He remains day-to-day, and it may cost him his HRD appearance.  Bummer.

The second game saw the Marlins fight down a huge lead, and take the lead in the top of the 10th. The Marlins were just one out away, when Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run walk-off home run to secure the Brewers with at least a series split. That loss had to be the most demoralizing loss of the season.

Today, the Marlins will try to bounce back and pull out a victory. The Marlins will have their ace, Josh Johnson on the mound, against a struggling starter in Randy Wolf. This game almost feels like a must win game for the Marlins, although most people will tell you there is no such thing in July.

Josh Johnson will try to end the Marlins two-game slide, when he takes the mound on the Fourth of July. (Image: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE)

Miller Park

Five-year Run PF*: 0.99
Five-year HR PF*: 1.02
Stadium Dimensions:
Left field line—342 ft.
Left-center field—374 ft.
Center field—400 ft.
Right-center field—378 ft.
Right field line—356 ft.

*Five-year regressed park factors provided by Patriot here

(more…)

July 3, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Brewers third baseman

An emotional rollercoaster.  An in-your-face explosion of action all over the screen.  No, it’s not a summer movie, it’s last night’s Marlins-Brewers slugfest.  All in all, there were 31 base hits, 25 runs, 8 home runs, and four errors. It was like a really tense BP session.

The Marlins lit the fuse in the first inning with a double by Donovan Solano. Logan Morrison followed up with a 2-run shot that put runs on the board early.  The Brewers answered with three in the third inning and put up six runs in the bottom of the sixth. A leadoff homer, a double, a blown double play and another homer made the sixth inning one the Marlins wouldn’t mind forgetting. So, going into the seventh inning, the Fish were down 9-2.

We put up nine runs in innings seven and eight, tying the game at 11-11. Jose Reyes got the go-ahead run with a 10^th-inning homer. Heath Bell did not dominate in his close, and after walking the leadoff  guy, he gave up a game-winning 2-run homer to Aramis Ramirez.

Logan Morrison, Justin Ruggiano, John Buck, and Scott Cousins also took the ball deep last night, but our pitchers gave up 17 hits and three dingers.  Four of the Brewer runs were unearned, on 3 errors (two by Jose Reyes and one by Donovan Solano).

The game was alternately exhilarating and frustrating. It was a sloppy, hard-hitting slugfest, but the excitement was high, especially during the late-inning rally. Ultimately, it was the 2-run walkoff that set the final, disappointing tone for the game.

Today, an improving Josh Johnson faces a struggling Randy Wolf for the third game of the four game series with the Brewers. The heat index is forecast to be 111, so the on-field conditions will take a toll on everyone, especially pitchers and catchers. Still, J.J. has been throwing the ball well lately, and I suspect the Marlins’ bats will stay active.

Prediction: Marlins by three.

The Marlins and Brewers will be right back at it today. Take note that today’s game will be at 4:10 PM EST instead of the usual night game. The Marlins will need this game to bring back some of the mojo they had during their win streak. The team has now lost five straight road games.

Miller Park

Five-year Run PF*: 0.99
Five-year HR PF*: 1.02
Stadium Dimensions:
Left field line—342 ft.
Left-center field—374 ft.
Center field—400 ft.
Right-center field—378 ft.
Right field line—356 ft.

*Five-year regressed park factors provided by Patriot here

(more…)

Source: FanGraphs

The game got off to the perfect start for the Marlins. Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez both singled to left field to start the game. Then, a rarely out of control Zack Greinke walked Giancarlo Stanton to load the bases. Greinke then was able to settle down and get a huge strikeout of Logan Morrison.  The inning had a very June feeling after LoMo’s strikeout, as the feeling was that the Marlins would not get anything out of the inning.

Ruggiano continues to be the Marlins hottest hitter, as he hit a home run and drove in a career high four runs on Monday. (Image: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE)

Fortunately, the Marlins have a scorching hot bat on their side in Justin Ruggiano. With the bases loaded and one out, Ruggiano squeaked a ball into left field, past Aramis Ramirez that score Reyes and Ramirez. The Marlins had a 2-0 lead over Greinke after just half an inning.

Zambrano would be quick to give back one of the two runs the Marlins scored in the bottom of the first inning. After retiring the first two hitters, Big Z hit Ryan Braun, then went on to walk three straight hitters, the last being Rickie Weeks, which scored Braun from third. The Brewers were on the board with no base hits to their name.

The Brewers then tied the game in the bottom half of the second after a Ceasar Izturis triple and Greinke sacrifice fly. After the Izturis triple, Zambrano was able to settle down, retiring the next Brewers ten hitters, before a Carlos Gomez homer in the fifth.

With Zambrano settling in, the Marlins were able to grab control of the ballgame in the third inning. After a Hanley walk, Logan Morrison doubled to right to score Hanley from first. The Marlins regained the lead, 3-2. The very next hitter, Ruggiano, continued his hot hitting, by hitting a deep home run to left field. That gave the Marlins a 5-2 lead, and put Greinke on the ropes for his first loss at Miller Park, ever.

Marlins catcher John Buck was thrown out of the game before the sixth after complaining about a questionable check swing call to the home plate umpire Derryl Cousins. After watching replays, it was very obvious that Buck did not swing. He was also very upset about some of the calls that Greinke and the Brewers were getting and Big Z was not. Here is a video of what happened.

Brewers tied the game when Travis Ishikawa singled off of Zambrano, driving in two runners. It was obvious at that the time that Zambrano was too tired to go on. Ozzie should have taken him out after the fifth inning, but that is his call, not mine. Unfortunately, it was a move that bit the Marlins in the but.

But this was not the deciding outcome in the game, as the eight inning was the inning that proved to be the pivotal inning for the Marlins.

The Marlins got a leadoff double in the eighth and could not score. The Brewers got a leadoff double in the bottom half and parlayed it into the game-winning run. That was the Marlins story of June, and two days into July, the inability to drive runners in from scoring position is still a major factor.

After Stanton reached on his double, Corey Hart made a nice defensive play to rob LoMo of a hit, but it did move Stanton to third with one out. The next hitter, Ruggiano was robbed of a base hit on a great play by Aramis Ramirez. That was followed up by an intentional walk to Dobbs and a four-pitch walk to Omar Infante. Brett Hayes was then robbed by Ramirez, as the Marlins were denied a run in the eight.

Rickie Weeks led off the eight inning with a double and was followed up by a Martin Moldonado single to right to setup the Brewers with runners and first and third, no one out. Norichika Aoki was then able to execute the perfect bunt to score Weeks. The Brewers took the lead and John Axford was able to finish the Marlins off, easily.

The he Marlins take on the Brewers again today at Miller Park. at 4:10 PM ET. On the mound for Miami will be Anibal Sanchez, and he will face Marco Estrada of the Brewers. The Marlins will need this game to even the series and try to establish some winning before the All-Star break.