Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs: Three stories to watch

Can Some Former NL Central Pitchers Finally Solve Chicago? 

The biggest and most significant challenge for the Miami Marlins in this matchup will fall equally on the shoulders of Jeff Locke and Dan Straily.

Straily has been the lone model of pitching consistency for the Fish so far this season. Locke was a revelation his first time out, and his second start would be worthy of special interest regardless of the opponent. Besides having been fun to watch so far, the pair of teammates do share something else in common:

Both have been flat out destroyed by the Chicago Cubs.

Locke and Straily both have NL Central service time under their belts with the Pirates and Reds respectively. So plenty of Cubs exposure has come along with that. Admittedly, the sample size is a bit small for Straily given his one year of experience.

The same cannot be said of Locke, who played for the Pirates from 2011 to this offseason.

The numbers aren’t pretty. In 2016, Straily went 0-1 with a 10.13 ERA against virtually the exact same team he’ll play Monday night. Locke was better by comparison, going 0-2 with a 6.75 mark. Across all twelve appearances of his career, Locke “improves” to 1-4 with an ERA of 6.00. In both cases, it’s been pretty tough sledding.

Success in this series obviously depends on a couple of former Cub doormats figuring out how to solve a lineup they’ve yet to show any ability to solve.

Or not.

Between the play of the bullpen and the offense the past week, the Marlins might be able to absorb a couple of six-run starts. Probably best not to count on that though.