Marlins Hit Bottom
Winning streaks have been non-existent for the Florida Marlins in the second half of the season. That lack of positive consistency has helped diminish one of the surprise stories of the first half.
The Marlins look to win three straight games for the first time in nearly two months on Saturday night when they continue a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Oddsmakers from SBG Global have made St Louis -140 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for tonight’s game, the over/under has been set at 9 total runs (Matchup). Current public betting information shows that 55% of bets for this game have been placed on St Louis -140 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
After trading top run producer Miguel Cabrera and former 22-game winner Dontrelle Willis last offseason, little was expected of the Marlins (72-69) this year. A third straight losing season seemed likely with a young lineup and pitching staff, but they were only 1 1/2 games out of the NL East lead at the All-Star break.
Florida, though, has nearly played itself out of postseason contention by going 22-24 since the break. The Marlins – seven games behind the East-leading New York Mets – hadn’t won two straight since July 30-31 before pulling out a 4-1, 11-inning victory in Friday’s series opener.
Dan Uggla singled in the go-ahead run in the 11th after Mike Jacobs hit his 30th homer in the ninth to erase a 1-0 deficit.
"I can’t remember the last time we did that,” Uggla said. "We want to see if we can get something rolling, because we can’t afford to let anything slip away at this point.”
Uggla and Hanley Ramirez each had two hits for Florida, which hasn’t won three in a row since a four-game streak July 9-12.
St. Louis (75-66) dropped 6 1/2 games behind wild card-leading Milwaukee with its sixth loss in seven games.
Jacobs’ homer came off rookie closer Chris Perez, who has blown save opportunities in his last two appearances after converting six in a row. He took the loss Wednesday in a 4-3 defeat at Arizona that concluded a 1-5 road trip.
"It’s a tough one, obviously,” Perez said. "We’re trying to stay in this thing and the last two times I’ve gone out there I’ve had the lead and when I’ve left we haven’t."
Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols went 2-for-5 and remained on the top of the NL batting race with a .360 average, three points ahead of Atlanta’s Chipper Jones. Pujols is batting .470 (31-for-66) with six homers and 16 RBIs in his last 17 games, but St. Louis is only 7-10 in that span. He is 4-for-20 with no RBIs in five contests this season against Florida.
Struggling Scott Olsen (6-9, 4.35 ERA) looks to end a personal five-game losing streak for the Marlins. The left-hander dropped to 0-5 in his last eight starts with a 6-2 loss to the Mets on Sunday. He was charged with six runs and seven hits over 6 1-3 innings, remaining winless since July 19.
Olsen is 1-3 with a 6.12 ERA in four career starts against the Cardinals, but has pitched effectively in two of those outings, including a 3-0 home loss on Aug. 14.
Olsen has held Pujols in check, limiting him to a .231 batting average (3-for-13) and one home run.
Todd Wellemeyer (11-6, 3.76) will try to beat Olsen and the Marlins for the second time this season. The right-hander opposed Olsen at Dolphin Stadium on Aug. 14 and scattered three hits through 7 2-3 innings of the 3-0 victory.
Although he was on the short end of a 3-0 loss, Wellemeyer had another strong outing Sunday at Houston, yielding one run and four hits in seven innings. He is 3-2 with a 2.74 ERA in his last eight starts.
Wellemeyer is 1-0 with a 2.38 ERA in four appearances against Florida.
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