Philadelphia @ Miami preview
Marlins Park
Last Meeting ( Apr 12, 2013 ) Philadelphia 3, Miami 1
Chase Utley is starting to feel good again and that could be bad news for the Philadelphia Phillies’ National League East rivals. Utley is healthy to start the year for the first time in three seasons as the Phillies continue their three-game road set against the Miami Marlins on Saturday. He is 12-for-38 with two doubles, two triples, two home runs and 10 RBIs through 10 games and also delivered his second game-winning RBI this season when he tripled in the 10th to break open a tie game Friday.
Miami (1-9) is off to the poorest start by a big-league team since Baltimore and Houston lost nine of their first 10 games in 2010. Furthermore, the Marlins may have to deal without slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who will undergo an MRI on the sore left shoulder that sidelined him Friday and will force him to miss Saturday’s game. The Marlins, held to one run or fewer for the sixth time in 10 games, have scored a league-low 17 runs.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet (Philadelphia), Fox Sports Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies LH Cole Hamels (0-2, 10.97 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jose Fernandez (0-0, 1.80)
Hamels is off to his worst start since 2009, when he carried a 11.17 ERA after two outings. The three-time All-Star was roughed up for eight runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings in Sunday’s 9-8 loss at home against Kansas City. The Marlins are one of only two teams that Hamels has a losing record against that he has faced at least 10 times (8-10, 3.36 ERA), although he is 6-3 with a 2.43 ERA in his past 11 outings against Miami.
The 20-year-old Fernandez surprisingly made the 25-man roster after injuries ravaged Miami’s rotation during the spring. But the team’s top prospect was up to the challenge in his first start above the Class-A level when he allowed one run and three hits over five innings in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the New York Mets. Fernandez, who struck out eight in a no-decision, posted a 14-1 record with a 1.75 ERA and 158 strikeouts over 134 minor-league innings in 2012.
WALK-OFFS
1. Hamels is 0-2 for the second time in his career.
2. The Marlins are two losses shy of matching their worst start in franchise history (1998).
3. Philadelphia has won three straight and eight of its last 10 against Miami.
PREDICTION: Phillies 4, Marlins 2