Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins: Three stories to watch

Worst Miami Marlins Month Ever? 

The short answer is no. Even if the Miami Marlins are swept this weekend, that distinction is technically off the table.

But they could tie.

In June of 2011, the Marlins posted a 5-23 record. That was enough fun to cause manager Edwin Rodriguez to quit. One win in six tries is all Miami needs, the first three of which come against these Angels, to avoid claiming a share of that title. That much seems reasonable to hope for.

The bigger questions are just how far the 2017 Marlins can move away from even being in the running for worst month, and whether they can outright avoid having the worst May ever.

The current May title goes to the 2013 Marlins, at 6-22. So that’s one win to tie, and two to escape. A surprise series win here would put the club in fine shape to even break out of the Top 10 Worst Months, once you remove twenty-three Octobers at any rate.

Finally, I’m sure many Marlins fans have noticed that the club hasn’t managed to win a series yet this month. This has happened before, but it’s extremely rare. Once you discount all those regular season Octobers (and one March), it’s happened only three times in franchise history. And one of those was in April of 1995, when the team only played six games on account of the Strike.

Depending on how glass half empty, glass half full you look at a series split, there was a fourth time the Marlins went winless. In that abysmal 2013 May, the club did manage one split against the Phillies. I choose the glass half full view personally, but wanted to put it out there in case anyone is checking the math.

So while it would be hard to match this month for disappointment, it will really only take one win to avoid making this stretch of futility historic for Miami.