The Miami Marlins (43-46) will host the Philadelphia Phillies (47-43) on Sunday, in the final game before the all-star break for both teams. Each of these clubs is currently in the National League Wild Card race, and the upcoming weeks could decide how they approach the trade deadline.
The Phillies beat the Marlins 2-1 on Friday, snapping a four-game losing streak. Saturday's game was not complete at the time of the preview.
The Phillies came into the season with high expectations as they battle to contend with the Mets and Braves in the NL East. After staring 21-29, manager Joe Girardi was fired and replaced with Rob Thomson. Since that point, the Phillies have gone 26-14 and went into Saturday's action only half a game behind St. Louis for the final NL Wildcard spot. The Phillies have cooled down as the break approaches. They lost four straight games to start the week but ended the skid with a 2-1 win over the Marlins on Friday, handing a loss to Cy Young hopeful Sandy Alcantara.
Another solid start from Gibby ?? pic.twitter.com/o9nVSJGxvA
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) July 16, 2022
The Phillies have been strong offensively for most of the season, ranking in the top-10 of MLB in runs scored (4.7 pg), home runs (115), and stolen bases (54). The Phillies currently have two players headed to the All-Star game; Kyle Schwarber (28 HR, 57 RBI) and Bryce Harper (15 HR, 48 RBI, 9 SB). Recently the bats have cooled down, as Philadelphia has failed to score more than three runs in any of their last seven games.
Scheduled to start Sunday is Aaron Nola (5-7, 3.35 ERA). Nola is 2-5 on the road this season but has a 2.61 ERA in those nine starts. In 18 career games against Miami, Nola is 4-8 with a 3.53 ERA.