Game Two Preview: Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies

The Miami Marlins will try to open their season with a second straight victory over the Philadelphia Phillies later today.

The first pitch is scheduled for 4:05 PM EDT, at Citizens Bank Park. Zack Wheeler, who has faced the Miami Marlins 14 times through his career as a New York Met, will make his Phillies debut against a familiar opponent.

Wheeler has held the Marlins to a .197 average with a 5:1 K/BB ratio, going 7-3 with a 1.91 ERA. He’s coming off an 11-8 season in which he racked up a 3.96 ERA over 31 starts.

In last night’s game, the Marlins took a 5-2 decision behind a solid start from Sandy Alcantara. He went 6 2/3 innings, surrendering only two walks and three hits while striking out seven. Jesus Aguilar went deep for the Miami Marlins first homer of the season, while Corey Dickerson and Miguel Rojas each chipped in with a pair of hits.

With that win, the Marlins improved to 206-249 in 455 games against Philadelphia, a .453 winning percentage. Of course, last season the Marlins took 10-of-19 to claim the season series against the Phillies. The Miami Marlins enter the game tied with the New York Mets for first place in the National League East, at 1-0.

Elsewhere in the “East” Division yesterday, the Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 1-0, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 6-4, and the Boston Red Sox roasted the Baltimore Orioles, 13-2.

In addition to the Marlins game today, the Orioles will play the Red Sox at 1:35 PM at Fenway Park, the Blue Jays will play the Rays at the Trop starting at 3:10 PM, the Mets will host the Braves at 4:10PM, and the Washington Nationals will host the New York Yankees at 7:15 PM.

Probable Lineups

The Miami Marlins will give strikeout specialist Caleb Smith the ball for game two this season. Smith was 10-11 last season for Miami, with 168 K’s in 153 1/3 innings. He racked up a 4.52 ERA and a 1.226 WHIP, but also “led” the majors with 33 homers surrendered.

Today’s lineup may look a lot like yesterdays, according to rotowire:

Lineup

1 CF Jonathan Villar
2 1B Jesus Aguilar
3 LF Corey Dickerson
4 RF Harold Ramirez
5 3B Brian Anderson
6 DH Garrett Cooper
7 2B Isan Diaz
8 C Francisco Cervelli
9 SS Miguel Rojas

Bench

C Chad Wallach
IF/OF Jon Berti
IF Sean Rodriguez
OF Magneuris Sierra

Bullpen

Brad Boxberger
Jeff Brigham
Adam Conley
Robert Dugger
Yimi Garcia
Jordan Holloway
Brandon Kintzler
Nick Neidert
Sterling Sharp
Ryne Stanek
Stephen Tarpley
Alex Vesia

More from Marlins News

Rotowire projects the Phillies to start with the following lineup:

1 LF Andrew McCutchen
2 1B Rhys Hoskins
3 RF Bryce Harper
4 C J.T. Realmuto
5 SS Didi Gregorius
6 3B Jean Segura
7 DH Jay Bruce
8 2B Scott Kingery
9 CF Roman Quinn

With their win yesterday, the Marlins playoff odds rose 2.3 percent, to 11.6 for the 2020 postseason.

Transactions

Yesterday, the Miami Marlins placed starting catcher Jorge Alfaro on the 10-day injured list.

Outfielder Travis Snider signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins. He is an eight-year MLB veteran with a career .244/.311/.399 slash line. He last appeared in the majors in 2015 with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Milestone Watch

With nine strikeouts, Smith would pass Nathan Eovaldi into 30th on the all-time franchise leaderboard with 265. Thanks for reading.