After Ugly Weekend, Marlins Look To Bounce Back Against Lowly Phillies
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Marlins went into the All-Star Break flying high after winning six of eight.
They were quickly brought back down to earth last weekend when they hosted the best team in the majors at Marlins Park.
Fresh off a three game sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami now will face the worst teams in baseball when the Philadelphia Phillies come to South Florida.
The Marlins will be looking to repeat their performance from the last time Philly was in town.
Miami outscored the Phillies 21-5 during a three-game sweep in late May.
Outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna have been hitting the ball very well of late for the Marlins.
Yelich is riding a seven game hit streak in which he has 12 hits, five doubles, three runs and three RBIs.
Ozuna has hits in 11 of his last 12 games and is batting a crisp .340 during the month of July with eight runs, three home runs and 16 RBIs.
It's been a breakout season for Ozuna. Voted an All-Star starter for the first time (his second consecutive All-Star appearance), Ozuna is slashing .317/.375/.563 while cracking 23 homers to go with 70 RBIs and 53 runs.
GAME INFO: First pitch 7:10 ET, Marlins Park
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RHP Jerad Eickhoff (1-7, 4.63 ERA) vs. Marlins RHP Tom Koehler (1-4, 8.00)
It's certainly not the prettiest of pitching matchups as both Eickhoff and Koehler have struggled mightily this season.
Koehler was demoted to Miami's Triple-A squad for six weeks after a disastrous outing against Houston on May 16th in which he surrendered eight runs on seven hits in just three innings.
In two starts since returning to the majors, Koehler has gone 0-2 while allowing 10 runs over 6 2/3 innings.
During his career Koehler is 4-4 with a 3.43 ERA over 16 appearances (14 starts) against the Phillies.
Eickhoff is making his second start since returning from the disabled list after straining his upper back.
He threw five scoreless innings while striking out eight during a win over San Diego, his first victory of the season.
Eickhoff has a career record of 2-3 against the Marlins, and his 3.30 ERA when facing Miami is lower than his career ERA of 3.74.
ROUNDING THE BASES
- Giancarlo Stanton has one hit in 10 at bats since the All-Star break. He participated in the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game.
- Second baseman Dee Gordon had just two hits in 19 at bats before picking up an infield single in a pinch hitting appearance on Sunday.
- Philadelphia is expected to activate infielder Cesar Hernandez from the 10-day DL before Monday's game.
- The Marlins hold a 21-24 record at home while the Phillies are 14-35 on the road.
