Saturday Night Baseball
The Florida Marlins came through at the plate for a clutch win Friday night. They haven’t been able to do that with Sergio Mitre on the mound.
The Marlins go for their third straight victory when they continue a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday.
Oddsmakers have made Los Angeles -160 money line favorites (MLB Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 7.5un total runs (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 84% of bets for this game have been placed on Los Angeles -160 (View MLB Bet Percentages).
Florida (41-46) won for the fourth time in six games on Friday, beating the Dodgers 6-5 in 10 innings in the series opener. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez went 3-for-6 with two homers and the game-winning RBI bunt single to boost his season average to .322 with 14 home runs and 34 RBIs.
"Nobody was expecting it, and that’s why it worked so well,” said pinch-runner Eric Reed, who scored the game-winning run. "The guy threw it right down the middle and Hanley laid down a perfect bunt. Henley’s game is more than just power. It’s also speed. And it’s always a weapon when he’s able to get a bunt in critical situations, because nobody plays in on him.”
Ramirez, the 2006 NL Rookie of the Year, has at least one hit in his last seven meetings with the Dodgers (48-39) and is 3-for-7 with two doubles during his career versus Derek Lowe, who will take the mound for Los Angeles on Saturday.
Florida recorded 11 hits Friday, improving to 28-12 when it has 10 or more base hits. The Marlins haven’t mustered much offense with Mitre (2-4, 2.88 ERA) on the mound, though, as they’ve been held to three or fewer runs in 11 of his 14 outings.
The right-hander is 0-2 over his last seven starts, despite allowing only 16 earned runs in 41 1-3 innings. He gave up three runs and three hits over six innings in a 3-1 defeat to San Diego on Monday, but said he’s not frustrated by the lack of support.
"It’s my fault,” Mitre said. "I put the guys on base – leadoff walk, leadoff double. Those are things that I can control. Everything else after that – stuff happens.”
Mitre has had five scoreless starts this season, including May 10 against the Dodgers, when he threw eight innings and yielded only three hits but did not receive a decision.
The Dodgers are 25-19 at home, but have dropped seven of their last 10 games at Chavez Ravine. They have also stranded 23 base runners over the last two games and were 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position on Friday.
Lowe (8-7, 2.98) will try to help Los Angeles avoid its first four-game losing streak since May 18-21.
The right-handed sinkerballer has allowed just 12 earned runs over his last 55 innings while holding opponents to a .188 batting average. He is 4-2 during that stretch.
Lowe held Atlanta to one run and eight hits over five-plus innings on Monday, but didn’t record a decision in the Dodgers’ 8-2 victory. He didn’t issue a walk and struck out five, but threw 104 pitches.
Lowe is 5-3 with a 3.93 ERA in 12 career games versus the Marlins. He opposed Mitre on May 10 at Florida, when he pitched shutout ball into the ninth inning before allowing a game-ending, three-run homer to Josh Willingham to take the hard-luck 3-0 loss.
by: Michael Cash – thespread.com – Email Us
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