The Miami Marlins will be looking to bounce back from a previous series loss by ruining the Philadelphia Phillies’ five-game winning streak on Tuesday. They stumbled in their three-game road meeting against the Chicago Cubs, while the Phillies clobbered the visiting Washington Nationals. Left-handed pitcher Braxton Garrett is slated to start on the mound opposite of Phillies ace Zach Wheeler.
The Marlins have lost their last four consecutive head-to-head games against the Phillies. We could talk about them not playing well on the road or the pitching slumping when they really needed it in those matchups.
But the lone fact remains that the Marlins need be more competitive offensively. They’re only averaging two runs in those previous four games, including being shut out in back-to-back outings. They’re in for a long and frustrating evening if they put all of their hopes into Braxton Garrett and the relievers saving them.
The 25-year-old lefty is throwing a 3.88 ERA with 66 strikeouts to his name and a 2-5 record. That isn’t going to necessarily scare a Phillies offense averaging the fifth-most home runs in the league. And those bats have been even scarier at Citizens Bank Park. If their offense gets going, they could run the Marlins out of the building early. Garr ett is coming off back-to-back losses to the Cincinnati Reds, but he did have some sizzle to his pitches in his last outing, when he accumulated 11 strikeouts and only yielded two runs to the Reds.
That’s the version of Garrett the Marlins need to see on Tuesday night.