The Miami Marlins will face the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday in NY's home opener. First pitch from Queens, NY, is at 1:10 p.m. ET. New York is a -170 moneyline favorite and the game total is eight runs.
Miami (2-4 SU and 1-5 ATS) wraps up its series with Minnesota on Wednesday. The Marlins split the first two games with the Twins.
New York (3-3 SU and 3-3 ATS) will also finish its previous series with Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Mets lost by a combined score of 19-0 in the first two games.
Miami will send Edward Cabrera (0-0, 4.50 ERA, and 2.00 WHIP) to the mound on Thursday and New York will counter with Tylor Megill (1-0, 3.60 ERA, and 1.60 WHIP).
Miami got a boost from Sandy Alcantara on Tuesday, as the reigning Cy Young winner pitched the season's first complete game. The 27-year-old gave up three hits and no runs, striking out five in an hour and 57 minutes. Avisaíl García homered in the second inning — the only run Alcantara required to lead the Marlins to victory.
Miami scores 1.67 runs per game (30th) with a .233 average (23rd) and .647 OPS (23rd). It's hit five home runs (19th) and stolen one base (21st). The Marlins strike out 10.67 times per nine innings (29th). The pitching staff has a 4.50 ERA (14th) and 1.22 WHIP (8th) with one quality start (10th).
It's no surprise the first shutout of 2023 belongs to @sandyalcantar22! pic.twitter.com/nv4MTRp9AQ
— MLB (@MLB) April 5, 2023
Cabrera takes the mound on Thursday. In his season debut against the Mets on April 1, he went four innings and gave up two runs on two hits and six walks. Cabrera threw just 40 of his 85 pitches for strikes. He is 1-1 with a 6.63 ERA in five career starts versus New York. The 24-year-old surrendered a homer in four of those outings and made it past the fourth inning just once.
His pitch usage is very different from most starters. Last season, he used his fastball way less (20.2%) than in 2021 (38.6%), adding a sinker and opting for his changeup (11%) and curve (3%) more. Both his four-seam fastball and changeup were more effective, but his walk rate was still a problem (4.1 BB/9).
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