Miami Marlins weekend recap: Fish fall to Dodgers

The Miami Marlins returned for the second half of the Major League Baseball season this weekend. They appear hungover from the All-Star festivities.

The first three games back from the mid-season were a showcase in why the Miami Marlins have been so frustrating this season. They played well enough to pick up a series victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers, but allowed opportunities to slip away.

After closing out the first half scorching hot, they failed to keep it going in their return to ball with their ball club. The Miami Marlins dropped three consecutive games and now sit as far back as ever from getting back to .500.

The team keeps giving optimistic fans just enough hope to keep them optimistically hopeful, but this will be difficult to bounce back from.

With the losses, the Marlins have fallen off the pace to the tune of 13.5 games in the NL East. They trail the second wildcard spot by 10 games. For all intents and purposes, it appears the Miami Marlins will be on vacation in October this season.

Setting the tone in the opener

The series might have gone the other way if Miami could have recorded three outs on Friday. They went into the final frame of the series opener with a one run lead. After handing the ball to AJ Ramos, the lead quickly dissolved and became a two-run deficit.

Credit the bat of Yasiel Puig turning it around with one might swing.

The team was noticeably deflated in the bottom half of the inning, They went down without a whimper, and laid an egg on the following night. Miami only mustered one run, while allowing seven to cross.

Most of the damage was done in the third inning. A crooked five-spot from the Dodgers put Miami behind for good. Alex Wood continued his run of dominance this season, improving to 11-0 with a 1.56 ERA. Meanwhile, Jose Urena fell to 7-4, and had a brief dust up with Yasiel Puig.

To which Jose Urena responded:

Otherwise, it was a night that featured nothing of note; a beat down from start to finish.

The final game of the series marked the second start of left-hander Chris O’Grady‘s career. He surrendered three runs over his five innings of work. He surrendered only one off the long ball against a potent Dodgers offense, and earned himself another start in the MLB with his outing.

Where do we go from here?

Which is the way that’s real? Still looking for that pivotal moment in which the team sale is completed, and we know what kind of sellers the Marlins become at the deadline. They won’t be trading for help this season, but will likely look to add pieces to contend next season.

Next: Miguel Rojas working his way back

After a tough series sweep against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins sealed their fate this year. They were dealt a tough hand to begin the season with, after the dearth in the rotation was never directly addressed.

Miami begins a three game set with the Phillies on Monday. First pitch is from Marlins park at 7:10 pm.