New York @ Florida preview
Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 29, 2010 ) NY Mets 6, Florida 7
The Florida Marlins have a bit of stability in their managerial position. Now they're trying to gain a foothold for a climb up the National League East standings.
The Marlins announced Tuesday that Edwin Rodriguez will be the club's manager for the remainder of the season, then rewarded the majors' first Puerto Rican skipper with a second consecutive victory in his home country.
They'll go for a sweep tonight in hopes of continuing their outstanding play against the New York Mets.
Florida hit two more home runs Tuesday - a grand slam by Hanley Ramirez and a two-run shot by Dan Uggla - as it ran its record to 8-4 against New York this year. The Marlins have hit 16 homers in those games.
Keeping up that trend could be a tough task tonight with Mike Pelfrey on the mound.
Pelfrey (10-2, 2.71 ERA) has been the Mets' most consistent starter, though he has struggled against Florida throughout his career. He is 1-6 with a 5.63 ERA in 10 career starts against the Marlins and has lost his last six decisions against them.
He hasn't faced them yet this season, though, and the 26-year-old right-hander is in the midst of a breakout year. He has gone at least six innings in each of his last eight outings - seven of them quality starts - and picked up his 10th win of the season Friday against Minnesota, holding the Twins to two runs on six hits over six innings in a 5-2 victory.
The Marlins hope to keep Pelfrey stuck on 10 wins by continuing the power surge that has seen them hit five homers in the first two games of their series at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan.
Uggla, who added a walk-off RBI single to go with his 15th homer Tuesday, is 9-for-23 lifetime with eight RBIs against Pelfrey. Jorge Cantu (7-for-20) and Cody Ross (6-for-17) also have good track records against Pelfrey.
The Marlins send 23-year-old right-hander Chris Volstad to the mound hoping he can shake the bad luck that has plagued him for more than a month.
Volstad (4-7, 4.40 ERA) has just one win in his last nine starts, though he has four quality starts during that span. He suffered one of those tough-luck losses Friday against San Diego, allowing three runs on seven hits over six innings in the Padres' 3-0 victory.
Tough luck has been the norm when Volstad has faced the Mets. He's 1-2 with a 2.70 ERA in four starts against them.
Outfielder Jeff Francoeur is one of few Mets regulars with a strong record against Volstad - he's 5-for-9 with a homer against him.
The Mets have lost consecutive games for only the second time this month and have lost six of 10 since reeling off an eight-game winning streak. They didn't lose any ground to first-place Atlanta on Tuesday, though, and remain 1 1/2 games behind the Braves.
The Marlins are 7 1/2 games out of first. They've won consecutive games for the first time since Rodriguez took over and are 3-4 under their new manager.