Miami Marlins @ Pittsburgh Pirates Preview: Thursday, August 8th 12:35PM EST (Game 112)

After dropping the first two games in the series, the Miami Marlins will try to salvage their series against the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon. The Marlins blew early leads in each of the first two games and could not mount a comeback in either game. They have now dropped four straight games.

Luckily for the Fish, the man that was on the mound when they last won a game is back there today. Jose Fernandez is going to try and encore his 13 and 14 strikeout performances in his last two outings. His 13 strikeout game came against this same Pirates team. In that game, when the Pirates started to square up Fernandez’s fastball, he made the adjustment to mix his pitches, which kept the Pirates hitters off balance for the remainder of the game.

Starting opposite of Fernandez will be Gerrit Cole, to give us the rematch of the highly anticipated battle we saw last week. Cole struck out eight Marlins in his seven innings of work, but surrendered three runs and was on the losing end of an interesting pitching dual.

Probable Starters

Aug 2, 2013; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez (16) celebrates a 10-0 win over the Cleveland Indians at Marlins Park. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Aug 2, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) delivers a pitch against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Marlins Lineup

Bold Prediction: Jose Fernandez follows up 27 strikeouts in his previous eight innings with 12 more tonight in seven innings of work. The Fish are able to muster enough offense to pick up the win for Fernandez, Yelich picks up three more hits in this game. Marlins win 3-0!