Last Updated on May 5, 2016 3:13 pm by Brad Burns
Marlins aim to stay hot against Brewers
While Washington, New York and even Philadelphia continue to dominate the NL East headlines, Miami looks like anything but your ordinary fourth-place team.
Don Mattingly’s surging group targets its 10th win in 11 contests tonight, with a 7:10 p.m. ET first pitch vs. visiting Arizona. Oddsmakers at online sports book Bovada.lv list the Marlins as 1.5-run favorites to sweep the series. The over/under total rests at eight runs.
In his first outing since tossing 7 2/3 no-hit innings against Milwaukee last week, Adam Conley (1-1, 3.67) aspires to hand the Diamondbacks their sixth consecutive loss. The lefty was removed from that 6-3 triumph at Miller Park due to a high pitch count and control issues. It’ll be interesting to see how he responds in a meeting with the NL West’s current basement tenants.
Arizona (12-17) has batted .232 while averaging 2.6 runs during a 1-7 stretch. Even perennial MVP candidate Paul Goldschmidt carries a .192 mark in the past nine games. One bright spot: Jean Segura (.339) should return to the lineup after missing three straight starts with hip discomfort.
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That same optimism doesn’t translate to the mound. Robbie Ray is 0-1 with a 12.86 ERA over his last two assignments. He yielded five runs and seven hits – including four homers – in Friday’s 9-0 home defeat to division rival Colorado.
Giancarlo Stanton undoubtedly knows these things. Since April 26, Miami’s pre-eminent masher boasts a .375 average with six bombs and 12 RBIs. He’ll lead the offensive parade on this occasion, too, as the Marlins (14-12) keep climbing up the standings.
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