Following their momentus five-game winning streak, the Phillies went on to lose three straight games. The last of those three contests was the opening battle of the four-game set with the Miami Marlins. They were shutout in that game, falling to their division foe 4-0. Miami would throw another four-spot on the board last night, but the Phillies offense, and David Buchanan, came through for a 7-4 victory. Marlon Byrd, Cody Asche, and Jimmy Rollins all put on commendable offensive performances, all in support of Buchanan's five-inning, two-run start. For the Phillies, winning the third game of the series tonight would guarantee them at least a split with the Marlins, possibly marking their third consecutive non-losing series. They'll have to do it behind the moderately warm arm of A.J. Burnett. The incredibly hot hand of Henderson Alvarez will oppose he and the Phillies.
Well-noted are A.J. Burnett's struggles with the free pass this season. Though he no longer leads the National League in walks allowed, he sits second behind the St. Louis Cardinals' Shelby Miller (Roberto Hernandez is third) with 44. It has certainly been a spot of concern for Burnett, as he's given up multiple base-on-balls in eleven of his sixteen starts. Recently, though, the veteran has worked through his struggles, giving up just a single free pass in his last two starts. He'll need to readjust against his former team, however, as in his two starts against the Marlins this season, Burnett has recorded eight total walks allowed. He is coming off a complete game performance against the Cardinals his last time out.
As improved as Burnett has been for Philadelphia, Henderson Alvarez has jumped into a new universe for Miami. From April 2nd through May 16th, Alvarez gave up multiple earned runs in six of his nine starts, including three against the Phillies. The second time he faced the Phils, however, Alvarez turned his season completely around. Since that May 22nd outing where he allowed no runs in seven innings, the fourth-year pitcher has had five starts, and only one where he gave up multiple runs (2 ER against Pittsburgh). He has a shutout included in his current stretch, and is on the best run of his career. The Phillies offense will need to string together baserunners in order to end Alvarez' streak.
Game Notes:
- Marlon Byrd is 8-for-34 this season against the Miami Marlins this season, a .235 mark. Despite the dipped average, Byrd has collected two home runs and eight RBIs against the Fish in 2014, as well as a pair of doubles.
- Since his return from the disabled list on June 20th, Cody Asche is hitting .368, with seven hits in nineteen at bats. He's got five RBIs in those five games. In his last five games against Miami, Asche has seven hits, including two doubles.
- Chase Utley is just six hits away from 1,500 for his career. He has twelve hits in the eight games he's played against Miami this season, which include a home run, four RBIs, and five doubles.
Phillies Lineup
- Jimmy Rollins SS
- Carlos Ruiz C
- Chase Utley 2B
- Ryan Howard 1B
- Marlon Byrd RF
- Cody Asche 3B
- Domonic Brown LF
- Ben Revere CF
- A.J. Burnett P
Marlins Lineup
- Jake Marisnick CF
- Derek Dietrich 2B
- Giancarlo Stanton RF
- Casey McGehee 3B
- Garret Jones 1B
- Marcell Ozuna LF
- Jarrod Saltalamacchia C
- Ed Lucas SS
- Henderson Alvarez P
Location: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Game Time: 7:05 PM Eastern
Weather: 81° F – Rain – 99% PoP
Andrew Gillen, Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com
