The Beginning of the Gauntlet

The fireworks started early tonight as outfielder Cody Ross capped off a heroic ninth inning with a 2-run walk off bomb to right centerfield, his 11^th home run of the season. The Marlins scored 8 runs on 11 hits and 6 walks in what became their first win against the Cincinnati Reds this season. Florida’s victory may have come just in time for the recently struggling team. The Marlins have been headed in the wrong direction as of late, winning only four times since May 26^th when the team started its grueling road trip through the NL East. Now the Fish are home and looking to reverse their fortunes in a 4-game series versus the Reds.

But these last few series have been rough for both the team and its fans alike. The pitching staff has begun to show glaring signs of fatigue. Since May 26th (which marked the first road trip of the grueling gauntlet referenced in previous editorials), Marlins pitchers have given up 6.5 runs per game. Even with Florida’s high-powered offense, its hard to win games when your pitchers give up so many runs. The bullpen has also registered 6 blown saves during the same stretch, a stat that will make any fan pull some of their hair out. However, these hard times cannot fall entirely on the bullpen’s shoulders as they have been massively overworked. Only twice during this time span have Marlins relievers been able to pitch less than three innings. So it is not surprising when you realize that there have been only three games when they haven’t given up an earned run.

The pitching staff is not getting much help from their defense either. Over the past 12 games, the Fish have committed 11 errors. Strangely, four of those errors have come from the pitchers themselves. At this point in the season, the Marlins lead Major League Baseball in total errors and are ranked the worst in fielding percentage. Not exactly a recipe for success.

However, the Marlins may have just received the boost they needed from Ross to get back on track for a possible run at the playoffs. After Saturday’s win, the Fish are 5 games over the .500 mark and 3.5 games behind the NL East leading Phillies. It may be a little early to start looking at the wild card race, but Florida is trailing St. Louis by only 2.5 games for that playoff spot.

It is no secret that any chance for the Marlins to stay competitive for a spot in the post-season is going to have to be sustained by the pitching staff. And only about one third of the way through the season, many of our pitchers’ arms look like they are on their last thread. Cue minor league sensation Ryan Tucker. The 21-year-old right-hander has been tearing up AA ball with a 1.09 WHIP and 1.41 ERA this season. With 70 innings pitched, Tucker has only given up 11 earned runs and 2 home runs. If the rookie pitcher is able to sustain some type of success at the major league level (and we all are praying that he can), it will allow fellow rookie Burke Badenhop to provide a fresh arm for the bullpen. The combination of the two moves may be able to help the rest of the bullpen to rest their arms for a little while, which could help the productivity of Florida’s relief pitching as a whole. Its tough to have to rely on two rookie pitchers, but the Marlins don’t have much else to go on at the moment. Hopefully, the youngsters can provide the help that is so desperately needed by the team right now. Sometimes baseball can be funny like that.