Miami Marlins are on to Baltimore to face Orioles on the road

The Miami Marlins have not had many series that have been classified as winnable. Luckily for Miami they travel to Baltimore to take on the Orioles who have the worst record in all of baseball.

This means the Miami Marlins actually have a chance to win the three game series. An outcome which has not occurred all that often this season.

June 15: Jose Urena (MIA) vs Kevin Gausman (BAL)

Jose Urena has experience against four batters in the Baltimore lineup. Pedro Alvarez, Jace Peterson, Luis Sardinas and Danny Valencia. Alvarez and Peterson are the only two who managed to get a hit in 12 at-bats. Peterson has three hits including two doubles. Additionally Peterson has reached base via the walk three times.

Like Urena, Kevin Gausman has only faced four batters in the Marlins lineup previously. The most notable being Starlin Castro who faced off against Gasuman often as a member of the New York Yankees. Castro has 10 hits in 27 at-bats which include two doubles. Cameron Maybin, Bryan Holaday and Martin Prado each have two hits against Gausman in past matchups.

June 16: Wei-Yin Chen (MIA) vs Alex Cobb (BAL)

Marlins pitcher Wei-Yin Chen has some history pitching against his former team. Holding five current Orioles to a .200 average in 45 at-bats. Danny Valencia and Craig Gentry have the most exposure to Chen with 22 and nine at-bats respectively. Valencia has five hits while Gentry has two. Alvarez and Mark Trumbo have been held hitless in their combined 10 at-bats. Peterson has managed two hits in four trips to the plate against Chen.

The Marlins batters have a rough history when it comes to facing Alex Cobb. Cobb has held seven Marlins to a .139 batting average in 36 at-bats. The real concern for Miami is that between all the Marlins hitters they only have one RBI against Cobb. This means runs may be hard to come when they face off on Saturday. There is not a hitter in the Miami lineup with more than one hit off of Cobb. Miami can increase their chances to win if they get to the Baltimore bullpen rather than trying to get hits off of Cobb late in the game.

June 17: Trevor Richards (MIA) vs Dylan Bundy (BAL)

Trevor Richards has never faced the Baltimore Orioles in his young career. This is not a surprise since the Marlins and Orioles are in two completely different leagues. Richards is 1-3 in seven starts this season and has given up 16 runs in 28.2 innings. Walks are an issue for Richards as he averages 4.4 walks per nine innings.

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Dylan Bundy has faced three Marlins players in his career. Like the aforementioned Gausman, Castro has hit Bundy well. Castro has five hits, including two home runs against Bundy driving in five runs. Only two other Marlins batters have history against Bundy, Maybin and JB Shuck. Maybin and Shuck have gone 1-3 and 0-2 respectively. Bundy has not allowed a run over his past two outings, a stretch that has lasted 15 innings. Bundy is prone to the occasional bad outing. Due to the fact he has been excellent over his previous two starts he could be ready to implode come Sunday. It is entirely possible that Castro leads the charge against Bundy and the other Miami hitters follow suit and take advantage.

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Baltimore has lost eight of their last 10 games, including seven straight. During this time the Orioles are averaging only 2.4 runs per game compared to the 4.9 runs that their pitching staff has given up.

Miami has won six of their last ten games. During this stretch the Miami Marlins have scored 4.6 runs per game and have given up 3.5 runs per game. This positive run differential has led to winning two of their last three series. Series wins over St. Louis and San Francisco but Miami dropped a three game set to San Diego.

Comparing the success and failure of both teams over the last 10 games it appears that the Marlins are heading in the right direction and have a chance to win the upcoming series against Baltimore. As long as playing with American League rules does not have a major impact on the outcome of the series that is.

Next: 11th Round Pick Davis Bradshaw

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