Miami Marlins Fall to St. Louis Cardinals Behind Struggling Jacob Turner, 5-4

Jacob Turner might have been pitching for his starting rotation spot on Tuesday afternoon, as the Miami Marlins took on the St. Louis Cardinals. Manager Mike Redmond had not been impressed with Turner’s lack of control through two spring starts against the Cardinals.

Mar 19, 2013; Jupiter, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jacob Turner (left) talks with catcher

(right) in the fourth inning during a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

With his job hanging in the balance, Turner did not have a strong start for the Miami Marlins, as our new author David pointed out last night.

"Before the game, manager Mike Redmond made it clear that Turner needed to pitch well in what could be his last chance to impress the Marlins’ brass after a dismal spring. Unfortunately, Turner pitched as he has for most of March, giving up 7 hits and 4 earned runs in 5 innings pitched in Tuesday’s outing."

As David pointed out, while it is disappointing to see Turner pitching this poorly, you have to remember that Turner is only one-year older than Marlins star prospect, Jose Fernandez. He is a work in progress and some time in the minors to work on his stuff will not harm him at all.

Despite the shaky performance, manager Mike Redmond was happier with the results from Turner than his previous outings:

"“Turner was much better today,” manager Mike Redmond said. “His first two innings were really good. He was pretty good in the strike zone, threw a lot of strikes, and mixed in his offspeed pitches. Those fourth and fifth innings, he just got the ball up a little bit. You could see he was starting to give up some long fly balls, and finally gave up a home run. His first outing, he was all over the place with his command. He just looked really uncomfortable. He looked much better today. He looked more confident. He was around the zone all day.”"

Turner struggled with giving up long-balls last season as well, so this is something that needs to be monitored with Turner as well. Hopefully Turner can put everything together his next start, or the Marlins will have a decision to make about where he will start the season.

Polanco’s Returning to Form?

Placido Polanco is still recovering from his back issues from earlier this spring. He is slowly getting back into form for the Marlins, as he went 1-for-4 with a two-run single in the seventh inning, as part of a rally to get the Marlins back into the game.

Juan Pierre was the other Marlins offensive player of note, as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in this one. Justin Ruggiano collected a double for the Marlins, hopefully he is starting to find his groove after back issues of his own.