Three stories: Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies

The Miami Marlins will celebrate Memorial Day by kicking off a series against the National League East team they have both faced the least, and also the only one they have failed to beat yet in 2017.

Only two of nineteen possible games have been played so far against the Fighting Phills, thanks to the season’s lone rainout. You may remember that as one of the last times Miami Marlins fans felt good about their ballclub. Fresh off a series victory in San Diego, losing two of two against the Phillies was an annoying but tolerable stumble in a long season.

Little did we know it would be the first of ten straight series losses.

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Happily though, that streak has been decisively snapped thanks to Sunday’s resounding 9-2 victory. The Marlins can now focus on cementing their climb out of the NL East cellar by putting some distance between themselves and Philadelphia. And possibly even on climbing higher- fans would do well to remember there is only good team in the division at the moment. Only three games separate Miami from teams not named the Washington Nationals

Whether or not the Marlins can rise to the challenge of taking advantage of a scuffling Phillies team is the biggest question heading into this series. However, there are other stories worth following as well. On both sides of the rubber, pitching provides a few compelling subplots to this clash of divisional rivals. Just as was anticipated, power was huge this past weekend; plenty to monitor there as well.

All that being, you shouldn’t really need any extra incentive to follow a Phillies-Marlins series. When it comes to loathing a franchise, this one has always felt pretty natural. At least for me.

But without further ado, time to get to the top three stories to monitor in this series. Let’s dive in.

Can The Miami Marlins Break Many Negative Pitching Trends?

There are, unfortunately, a lot of obstacles to the Miami Marlins finding that momentum though. And almost all of them have to do with starting pitching.

First off, there is the Curious Case of Edinson Volquez. Personally, I really wanted him to get a win in Oakland, just so we could revel in the fact that the first team he beat since switching to the National League was an American League team. No such luck though, he’s still winless.

Which isn’t that terrible of a thing at first glance, especially in this current era of WAR and WHIP, where wins are less emphasized than ever. But he does also lead the entire league in losses, and that’s a little harder to forgive. Grant it, he’s been better since his return from the DL, and he hasn’t enjoyed a ton of run support.

Still, dude needs to win. And easier opponents than Philadelphia don’t come along too often. If he can’t pull this off, it’ll be fair to start to wonder if he’s going to.

The other part of this are the Philadelphia pitching probables. Jeremy Hellickson has owned the Marlins, and Vince Velazquez always seems to save his odd awesome start for Miami as well. It’s never a good thing when the most winnable game in many ways is the one against the most talented pitcher (Aaron Nola).

The Fish will have to solve a lot of previously unsolvable arms if they are to have a chance.

Will The Big Fella Stay Hot?

The Miami Marlins need that answer to be yes, and for Giancarlo Stanton to keep on mashing home runs.

The Big Fella (don’t tell him I’m calling him that) found his power stroke against the Angels, and what’s more, has been on fire of late- especially since moving into the No. 2 spot in the order. But home runs had been sparse, with the two he hit this weekend being one more than he’d hit in over three weeks. With the power returning, Marlins fans can start getting excited again about the prospect of seeing Stanton defend his title in the Home Run Derby this July.

They can also dare to dream of a winning June, if Stanton is here to stay as a legitimate force in the order. The whole offense has really seemed to come alive in response, and honestly, there really isn’t anywhere to go but up in terms of on field results.

But let’s keep the focus on the long ball here. The dream of every Miami Marlins fan since Stanton arrived in the big leagues has been to see what he could do with an entire season’s worth of at bats. If he gets locked in…he could chase down the league leaders in a hurry. And I know I would enjoy September baseball in Miami a lot more if I thought Gary Sheffield‘s single season record was finally in danger of falling.

Next: Bour An All-Star?

Here’s to hoping the Fish stay hot, and we’ll see you when it’s time to tackle the Diamondbacks.