Cubs Prediction Review/National Prediction Preview

YES! A sweep of the Cubs have the Marlin’s momentum rising, but will be put to test against the league leader in wins, the Washington Nationals. For once all year, the Marlins looked complete and professional. Timely hits, extra basehits, a healthy amount of homeruns, starter production, bull-pen production, and an abundance of steals showed clearly who the most talented team was on the field. Below I will examine my predictions on the series:

LAST SERIES PREDICTIONS (CUBS)

1. Giancarlo Stanton WILL go yard

HR’s: Zero. Through 13 games of the season, Giancarlo Stanton has yet to hit a round trip. While this is no reason to doubt Stanton, I am still baffled. Even though he has seen an abundance of outside sliders/curveballs, he still has had great power ball pitch’s that he has failed to launch. He has come up with some big hits, but is still struggling with plate discipline.

 Josh Johnson will bounce back and show us that we should not be worried. ***

And he did just that! Johnson rebounded and thew 7 innings of 2 run baseball. While he walked 3, he still gave us the numbers we expected and a chance to win a ballgame. He recorded just 3 strikeouts, but managed to improve the velocity of his pitch’s through a mechanic change. Johnson seems to be back on track.

3. Emilio Bonifacio will reach base all 3 games ***

Not only did he reach all 3 games, he reached twice or more in every game played! Bonifacio believe it or not looked like a damn good ballplayer this weekend. His ability to get on base is incredible, and don’t forget, hes 9-9 on stolen base attempts. Keep it up Bonifacio, you may be turning some heads pretty soon.

4. Heath Bell will record a save ***

Heath Bell rebounded from a terrible start this season and recorded 2 saves this series. Bell pitched 2 innings of scoreless baseball while recording 3 strikeouts.

5. The Marlins will execute their first sweep of the  season ***

AND THEY DID! GO MARLINS

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Below I will make my 5 predictions for the upcoming series with the Wasington Nationals 

1. The Starting Pitching will be the key to taking the series

Even though the Nationals are without Michael Morse and Drew Storen, they are still a very good ball team. With a pitching staff of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, and Edwin Jackson, the Nationals are no team to mess around with. Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, Ian Desmond, and Adam Laroche have all been hitting the ball well and should challenge the pitching rotation heavily. Our starters need to be on point with few mistakes to come out with a series win. Falling behind early to the Nationals is the last thing you want to do.

2. Heath Bell will continue to see pressure

Minus the first game of the series, I expect these games to come down to a 1-2 run ball game in the 9th. Lets hope Bell is the man on the mound looking to close the game!

3. Bonifacio will again reach base every game this series

The little man has it going! Bonifacio is on a red hot start and will show no signs on slowing down. Expect him to reach base 6 or more times adding a couple steals along the way.

4. Stephen Strasburg will give up less than 4 hits all game.

Strasburg is a dominate pitcher, and he will show us. At points in time, Strasburg show’s that he can be the most feared pitcher in baseball with his fearless demeanor. The kid will punch you out before you know you have 3 strikes. Hopefully Stanton and Ramirez bring the power out of the tool shed. “The harder it flows, the longer it goes”

5. The Marlins win 2 of 3 and gain huge momentum heading into NY.

The Marlins will rough up Ross Detwiler, even though he has pitched good baseball. Game 2 will be a struggle with Strasburg so expect the worst, hope for the best. Game 3, Josh Johnson will continue his success and earn his first victory of the year.