Phillies at Marlins Preview (5/20-5/22)

The Phillies are coming off a huge win and emotional high yesterday that almost wasn't. With Cliff Lee getting picked off, things didn't look good. They were followed up with Erik Kratz's solo shot that would have tied it, before Freddy Galvis picked everyone up with a walkoff homer, back to back with Kratz.

That walkoff sealed the series win for the Phillies, as Dusty Baker remains winless in series against the Phillies at CBP.

With the Reds in the rear view, the Phillies head to Marlins park for a three game series with the lowly Marlins. The Phils will see Alex Sanabia, Jose Fernandez and Kevin Slowey. Jose Fernandez in particular has been nothing short of frustrating for the Phillies, but Kevin Slowey provided them with a ton of problems the last time he faced them, that of course being Roy Halladay's last start before his DL stint. The Phillies managed to make some progress against the Nationals, who lost the last two games of their series to the Padres, but not the Braves. Atlanta swept the disappointing Los Angeles Dodgers to keep their stranglehold on the NL East. The Braves however, only lead the division by 4.5 games. With the Twins visiting Atlanta and the Phillies taking on the lowly Marlins, it's possible that some progress can be made. Of course, nothing is ever easy as seen in the Phillieslast series with Miami.

The Marlins are bad, ok? They're just bad. They rank an even 30th in runs, batting average, on base percentage and slugging. They have a 12-32 record, and their leader in average is Placido Polanco at a .232. Justin Ruggiano is one to be watched however, with 7 home runs on the season. OH! And Juan Pierre hit a home run this year! Giancarlo Stanton however, is still on the DL. Luckily, the Phillies will miss the Mighty Giancarlo Stanton once again. Other than that, the keys to this series? FIGURE OUT JOSE FERNANDEZ, and to sweep this series. Come on, we have to.