The Miami Marlins Need the Offense to take charge

The Miami Marlins have been bitten by the injury bug in a big way.   As Neil wrote prior, both rookie phenom Eury Perez and staff ace Sandy Alcantara are out for the rest of the season due to injury.  This might not seem like a big deal on the surface as they would only miss one start a piece but it comes as a big issue because the Marlins have run out of starting pitchers. 

The Marlins have slated Braxton Garrett to start against the Mets in the series opener.  Garrett last started against the Mets on the 19th and he pitched six scoreless innings.  He has pitched much better on the road rather than at home which bids well for the Marlins who are hoping to make the playoffs.  Garret owns a 6-2 record with a 2.52 ERA on the road and so the series can start off on a good note if he continues his road production. 

After Garrett’s start questions linger as to who will step up to give the Marlins the innings needed.  Both Cabrera and Luzardo just started the last two games so the Marlins will need two pitchers to fill the gap and it seems like Johnny Cueto is one of the options.  The other potential option is Bryan Hoeing who has been hit or miss to date.  

With all of the questions surrounding the pitching staff the Marlins lineup needs to step it up, just like they did against the Braves.  If Chisholm, Bell, Burger, and Soler can step it up for the last few series then the Marlins will be on their way to the wildcard round.  Hoeing has proven to do well in games past, hopefully he has another he can pull out of his sleeve against the Mets. The Marlins need every win they can muster to make it to the postseason, and hope that the Cubs and Diamondbacks also have difficulty to finish out the season.