The Miami Marlins (48-57, 45-59 RL, 48-53-3 O/U) take on the Chicago Cubs (41-62, 53-50 RL, 45-51-7 O/U) in the first of a three-game series on Friday afternoon from Wrigley Field. The Marlins have yet to announce a starter. The Cubs will have Justin Steele on the hill. This is first the meeting this season.
The Marlins have yet to name a starter for the series opener. Alcantara pitched on Wednesday and Lopez gets the nod on Friday. Miami is dealing with a few injuries to the pitching staff including Daniel Castano who often makes spot starts. Nick Neidert is a candidate. The rookie limited the Mets to only two runs in five innings in his MLB debut last week. The Marlins bullpen is decent, posting a 3.97 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP on the season.
The Marlins begin a six-game road trek. They went a poor 1-5 on a six-game homestand including a sweep by the Mets and a series loss to the Reds. They avoided a sweep with a big home win against the Reds on Wednesday. The Marlins are dealing with several injuries to key hitters which has led to weak production at the plate.
Joey Wendle is receiving a ton of playing time batting atop the order bu t has not been able to produce with any consistency, amassing only three hits and one RBI in his last seven games. The 32-year-old posted a .740 OPS with the Rays last year but only has 22 RBIs and a .682 OPS.
The Marlins are scoring an average of 3.91 runs per game, ranking them 24th overall. The pitching staff features a 3.85 team ERA, placing them 11th in the big leagues.