Marlins (ss) Vs. Mets and Cardinals: Game Preview 3/1/14

Sep 18, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (24) delivers to the plate during the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins head in two separate directions today as they break into a split squad. One will travel to Port St. Lucie to play the New York Mets at 1:10pm EST, and the other will stay at Roger Dean Stadium to take on the Cardinals again at 1:05pm EST. I personally enjoy split squad games because it gives the players more opportunity to be seen, and generally they play a little longer then they usually would.

Miami is coming off of a win in the opening Grapefruit League game yesterday, 5-4 over the Cardinals. It pushes their winning streak to 3 – although the first two were exhibition games against college teams.

Here is the starting lineup for the team that is headed to Port St. Lucie:

Jake Marisnick – CF
Christian Yelich – LF
Jeff Baker – 1B
Casey McGehee – 3B
Derek Dietrich – 2B
Reed Johnson – RF
Rob Brantly – C
Ed Lucas – 3B
Austin Barnes – DH
Kevin Slowey – P

Here is the starting lineup for the team taking on the Cardinals:

Rafael Furcal – 2B
Adeiny Hechavarria – SS
Giancarlo Stanton – RF
Garrett Jones – 1B
Jarrod Saltalamacchia – DH
Marcel Ozuna – CF
Greg Dobbs – 3B
Jeff Mathis – C
Brian Bogusevic – LF
Nathan Eovaldi – P

One thing that really stands out to me is the flexibility that the Marlins have. Last year, when the Marlins struggled, there weren’t a whole lot of options for them to pick from to change their lineup. They were basically stuck with what they have. I really like how so many players on this team are capable of playing multiple positions. It really provides an opportunity to make sure that a hot bat can stay in the lineup when a starter returns from injury.

Today will be exciting since we will have two games going on at virtually the same time. We will again bring you a live blog that will track both games (to the best of our ability) and allow you to weigh in on your opinion of the Marlins.

You can watch the Marlins play the Cardinals on FS-M, the St. Louis broadcast, or you can listen to the game on WAQI 710, a Miami station, or KMOX 1120, a St. Louis station.

To catch the Marlins vs. the Mets, you can watch the game on WPIX, or listen to the game on WAQI 710 for the Miami feed. Both of these games will be broadcast with the MLB.TV subscription.

If you are busy but are getting home late afternoon, the MLB network will be showing a replay of the Cardinals/Marlins split squad game that was played a few hours previously. As always, if you have any questions about the games today, head down to the comments section and fire away, otherwise be sure to stop by our live blog as we enjoy a day of baseball at Marlin Maniac!