Unexpected Underdogs: How Fish Are Poised to Upend the Diamondbacks in the Desert Showdown

The expectation I had of the Marlins this season was that they were going to be very bad. The reality is, they aren’t quite as bad as I had thought they would be. They are still multiple games under .500 and probably will end that way for the season, but they are more competitive than I had thought they would be. The other expectation I had about the club is that it was going to sell off every player they could at the deadline. That still remains to be seen. Currently, the team is on a hot streak. Even the Rockies swept someone though, so maybe it means nothing. Today they get Sandy Alcantara, their de facto Ace to take the ball. Alcantara is 4-8 for the year with a 6.69 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He is still trying to rediscover his form from his Cy Young season three years ago. While he has been bad this year, this month has been encouraging. He has a 2.74 ERA this month and three quality starts. The one exception was when he lasted just five innings instead of six. He’s kind of owned the Diamondback hitters over the yeras, holding them to just 8 hits in 50 at-bats with 17 strikeouts. 

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6