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The Marlins, uh. The Phillies play the Marlins tonight. They are dealing with the loss of Giancarlo Stanton, who was hit in the face by a pitch last night and it was just awful.
Let's move on.
Heavy Hitters
Unlike other years, removing Stanton from the lineup doesn't turn the Fish into a sad void, which is partially how they are contending for a Wild Card spot.
Casey McGehee
McGehee has made himself imperative to the Marlins, going 6-for-19 in the past week with a home run and five RBI. This comes after a second half in which he has done all he can to make people forget about his impressive first half, hitting .247 after logging .319 until the All-Star Break. The other week, his frustrations grew so intense that he took them out on an innocent bat. He also went slightly insane curing the Stanton mess.
Christian Yelich
Yelich is hitting .371 with a .904 OPS over the last month, with 36 hits, eight doubles, and five stolen bases. But damn, that Stanton thing. It's all anybody's talking about, Marlins-wise.
That was one of the to hardest things I've ever had to watch here's to hoping Big G is alright and makes a full recovery prayers ur way bud
— Christian Yelich (@ChristianYelich) September 12, 2014
It was really bad.
Adeiny Hechavarria
I have never spelled this man's name correctly on the first try. Despite this, he still leads the team in triples with 10.
Marcell Ozuna
Cripes, this guy. Ozuna isn't the Marlins' top slugger, but hangs with the middle of the pack and love to wreck Phillies pitching. Since his debut in 2013, Ozuna is hitting .319 against the Phillies, with a .892 OPS, including four home runs and eight doubles. Fortunately, the only thing he hits better than Phillies pitching is Nationals pitching (.333/.370/471).
Also fortunately, the Phillies have picked up on this trend a few times this year.
Probable Starters
Henderson Alvarez vs. Cole Hamels
Alvarez is coming back from an oblique strain suffered at the beginning of month. After being pissed about leaving his last start, he slammed the ball into manager Mike Redmond's hand, and Redmond said it "felt like a feather." Not exactly intimidating. So the Fish are putting their featheriest hurler out there, against the team he walks more than anybody else this year (8 BB vs. Phillies) but that's spread out over four starts so maybe it's not that bad.
Hamels remains a fine young man.
Cole Hamels has allowed 3 ER or less in each of his last 19 starts - longest such stretch by a Phillies starter since Chris Short in 1967-68
— Jeff Skversky (@JeffSkversky) September 12, 2014
Brad Hand vs. Kyle Kendrick
The Phillies have shaken Hand [EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a great joke, Justin] [ACTUAL EDITOR'S NOTE: Justin I've asked you to stop impersonating me in your series previews. That said, it was a spectacular joke.] already this year. In his last start, Hand actually shut out the Braves through six innings. Impressive stuff.
HOWEVER.
It was his first win against an NL East opponent in 17 tries, during which he went 0-11 with a 5.88 ERA. Maikel Franco was taking grounders at third, and though not in the lineup tonight, he may get the start against Hand.
Oh my god, hopefully Marlon Byrd does something or other tomorrow night so we can get some "Byrd in the Hand" humor.
This is our lives now. This is how we live.
I almost forgot, Kendrick. Kyle has given up fewer runs this year than Justin Verlander. So that's nice.
Tom Koehler vs. David Buchanan
In two starts vs. the Phillies this year, Koehler has thrown 12 innings, with two earned runs, 15 strikeouts, and a single damn walk. Despite this, he leads the Marlins in walks with 65. The guy below him has 39.
WHAT COULD WE LEARN FROM THIS, PHILLIES.
Buchanan, as John Stolnis recently informed us, has been stellar this season, rarely giving up more than three runs in a start, and joining elite company like Mike Mimbs and Bruce Ruffin as a Phillies rookie starting pitcher. Stolnis also tells us,
Even though his rookie season has gone pretty well, it's not exactly indicative of a long and fruitful career.
Hey. Shut up, John Stolnis. Are you saying that Mike Mimbs and Bruce Ruffin and Pat Combs didn't go onto long and fruitful careers? I rest my case.
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