The Miami Marlins organization is an absolute disaster. Not a single aspect of the team is running smoothly. Fans refuse to go to games. Players publicly complain about the team. And the owner could honestly care less about it. However, with already 32 losses on the season, the Marlins are still finding ways to defeat the Phillies. Cole Hamels has had a very tough season thus far, but he could undoubtedly turn it around against such a weak lineup. Alex Sanabia has been struggling of late, just the thing this Phillies squad could feed off of. And yet…
With such a disappointing game, I'll just skip ahead to the scoring in this hit parade of a contest. It started early, with three singles off Hamels resulting in a run for the Marlins. It did not take the Phils to answer though, as Domonic Brown crushed a homerun to right field to tie it up. Perhaps the Phillies could win the games they are supposed to after all.
A quiet four innings passed, and Cole Hamels still had a chance to earn a second win. The "feisty" Marlins had another gameplan. Former Phillie Placido Polanco singled to leadoff the inning, and would later be doubled in by Justin Ruggiano. The scoring (at least, in the Marlins' case) continued in the eighth, when a combination of Justin DeFratus, Jeremy Horst, and Phillippe Aumont could not stop their bats. Four singles from the likes of Polanco, Marcell Ozuna, Ruggiano, and Nick Green plated three more runs. A 1-2-3 ninth inning secured a 5-1 Marlins win.
In order for the Phillies to compete, they must defeat the bottom-feeders. So far this year, they've been able to take two out of three from teams like the Giants and Reds, but have been easily defeated by far less competitive ballclubs. Now, taking two out of three would be a positive, and is still quite positive. But with the way things have gone this season, it doesn't seem so easy. Matchups with the Nationals and Red Sox loom in the coming week, so the Phillies must compete in the next two games. Tyler Cloyd and Jose Fernandez are set to face off tomorrow night in Miami. For the sake of the season, let's hope it's a good one.
