Caleb Smith works his magic as the Marlins win again

Caleb Smith pitched seven strong innings, gave up four runs on four hits and struck out nine, winning his fourth straight game for the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins do it again.

For the fifth time in their last six games, the team down in South Florida won a game, this time 11-6 over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Marlins Park. With the win, Miami is now 31–32 in the last 63 games and are 41-63 for the season.

And for those of you who were worried, the win also means they will not finish the 2019 season with the worst record in major-league baseball history. That distinction still is held by the New York Mets to finish 40-120 in 1962.

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There is plenty to like about what’s going on with this organization and this team which could look different in the next 24 hours. Nothing has materialized yet, but rumors still persist that veterans on this roster will be moved before the MLB trade deadline Wednesday.

For now, I would just like to concentrate on the win and what it means for the Marlins. Of course, I can’t do that because I have a job to do.

Caleb Smith struck out nine batters on the night, running his record to 7-4 on the season and adding fuel to the fire and speculation the teams are inquiring about Miami’s ace. He has also struck out 119 batters in 97 innings pitched. He owns a 3.43 ERA.

Marlins still have more than four years left of control on Smith’s contract making it unlikely he would be traded, but as baseball insiders have said, should an overwhelming deal come across the lines of communication, Miami would certainly listen.

The team traded Sergio Romo over the weekend to the Minnesota Twins (the team they face starting Tuesday)  in a deal we all knew would happen since the closer has signed a one-year contract this off-season. We are still waiting for the other domino to fall and potentially more thereafter.

Smith pitched another solid game, reaching seven innings where he gave up four runs on four hits while striking out the nine we talked about. He is getting better as the year progresses and looks completely healed from a hip injury that put him on the I.L.

It is more likely that Marlins will look to trade their veteran players and potentially bullpen pieces than give up a seasoned starter.

We haven’t talked about this in a while, but the Marlins could wait until the off-season where they can move talent for hitting prospects as they did with the deal involving the Twins.

Smith has won his last four games. Also, Miguel Rojas once again homered in the game. That makes three blasts in his last three games.