Miami Marlins vs Philadelphia Phillies Series Preview

After going 2-1 in a series over the weekend against the Mets, the Miami Marlins now host the Philadelphia Phillies for a 4-game series after taking two of three against their NL East division rivals last week in Philly.

Don’t let the record fool you, the Miami Marlins are squarely in the thick of things currently in the NL East. Standing at 22-24, the Marlins have a winning record this season again the NL East, and are only 2 GB of 1st place in the division. Next up for Miami is four games against the Phillies, a team they just won a series against under a week ago on the road.

Philadelphia comes down to South Beach struggling as they have lost five of their last seven. It was not a good home-stand for the Phillies last week as they dropped series’ to both the Marlins and Red Sox, and will be coming to Miami badly needing a victory.

The first pitch times and probable pitching matchups for each game of the series can be found below (Games at loanDepot Park, Miami, FL):

Miami Marlins (22-24, 4th in NL East) vs Philadelphia Phillies (23-24, 3rd in NL East)

Monday, May 24

First Pitch: 6:40 pm ET

Probable Starters: Trevor Rogers (6-2, 1.74 ERA) vs Zach Eflin (2-3, 3.77 ERA)

Tuesday, May 25

First Pitch: 6:40 pm ET

Probable Starters: Sandy Alcantara (2-3, 3.63 ERA) vs Vince Velasquez (1-0, 3.52 ERA)

Wednesday, May 26

First Pitch: 6:40 pm ET

Probable Starters: TBD vs Aaron Nola (3-4, 3.94 ERA)

Thursday, May 27

First Pitch: 12:10 pm ET

Probable Starters: Pablo Lopez (1-3, 2.73 ERA) vs Spencer Howard (0-1, 7.36 ERA)

Key To Win Series: Bullpen

You could make the argument that the Marlins should’ve swept the Phillies last week if it wasn’t for the 8th inning in Game 1 of the series. The offense will score, and with the Marlins throwing their top three arms in this series, the bullpen must be solid in protecting late leads.

Series Predictions

Offensive MVP: Garrett Cooper

Why not keep the momentum going? Cooper is arguably the hottest hitter on the team currently with hits in his last 8 games going into this series.

Pitching MVP: Sandy Alcantara

Alcantara was outstanding during his start in Philadelphia last week going 6 IP allowing 2 hits, no runs, 3 walks, and striking out 9. My prediction is we could see yet another dominant start from the Marlins ace.

Bold Prediction: Big Series for Magneuris Sierra

Sierra is struggling mightily currently only having 4 hits in his last 23 at-bats. Could we see a big break-out series this week?