Miami Marlins vs Los Angeles Dodgers Series Preview

After starting a very important early season road-trip with a 2-2 split in Arizona against the Diamondbacks, the Miami Marlins now travel to Los Angeles for three games against the defending World Series champions.

The Miami Marlins as mentioned previously earned a 2-2 series split from the Diamondbacks in the first four games of their 10-game, 3-city road trip. Miami received a few notable performances in the series including a phenomenal offensive series from Jesus Aguilar, as well as strong pitching once again from starter Trevor Rogers.

The first pitch times, as well as the probable pitching matchups for each game of the series can be found below:

Miami Marlins (17-20, 4th in NL East) vs Los Angeles Dodgers (20-17, 3rd in NL West)

Friday, May 14

First Pitch: 10:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Sandy Alcantara (1-2, 2.72 ERA) vs Clayton Kershaw (5-3, 2.62 ERA)

Saturday, May 15

First Pitch: 9:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: TBD vs Trevor Bauer (3-2, 2.50 ERA)

Sunday, May 16

First Pitch: 4:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Pablo Lopez (0-3, 3.07 ERA) vs Walker Buehler (1-0, 3.45 ERA)

Key to Win Series: 100% Offense

The Marlins will face three elite level starting pitchers, which including last years NL Cy Young Award Winner in Bauer. The offense must stay hot, while also getting more from a few of their struggling hitters.

The Marlins are arguably catching the Dodgers at the right time as they are only 4-6 so far in the month of May. The pitching isn’t the problem so far for LA, it’s the offense. If Miami can score runs, their pitching might be enough to limit the Dodgers offensively.

Series Predictions

Offensive MVP: Jesus Aguilar

Who else could it be? Aguilar just went 9/17 in four games in Arizona with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs, and hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Pitching MVP: Yimi Garcia

Miami will surely be in some close games, and will most likely need Garcia multiple times in late-innings. Expect to see Garcia at least twice during this series to continue his stellar work on the mound this season.

Bold Prediction: Big Series for Brian Anderson

It feels like Anderson is due for a big game at any time at the plate. Could that come against LA’s three dominant starters?

The Miami Marlins are catching the defending champs at the right time in a very important early season series. Can Miami go into LA and win a series, or will Los Angeles get back on track?