By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Editor 
The Phillies (3-3, 2nd NL East) will look to put their disappointing series against the New York Mets in the rear-view mirror when they travel to South Florida to begin a four-game set against the Miami Marlins (1-4, Last NL East).
The Marlins opened the season on the West Coast against San Francisco for three and against Los Angeles (A) for the odd two-game set. The Fish dropped four of the five however all four losses came by one run. As in years past, the Marlins are sort of an enigma on offense with no star power and nearly zero name recognition. Third baseman Joey Wendle currently leads the Fish with a .455/.500/.545 slash line. Second baseman Jazz Chisholm is also at the top of the Marlins leader board hitting .308 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI's.
What might prove to be advantageous to the Phillies is the Marlins bullpen situation. The Marlins starters averaged 5.0 IP over the first five games of the season forcing the Fish to rely heavily on the bullpen. Five of the nine Marlins relief pitchers have an ERA over 5.40 including closer Anthony Bender who has a 7.71 ERA.
That being said, Miami has traditionally been a house of horrors for the Phillies. The Phillies were unable to take advantage of a lowly Marlins team at the end of last season and lost two-of-three on the final weekend of the year. The Marlins have taken 17-of-29 from the Phillies over the past two seasons.
Dates: Thursday, April 14 – Sunday, April 17
Where: loanDepot Park in Miami, Florida
Times: Thursday & Friday: 6:40 PM | Saturday: 6:10 PM | Sunday: 1:40 PM
TV: Thursday. Friday. & Sunday: NBC Sports Philadelphia | Saturday: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus
Radio: 94.1 WIP-FM and the Phillies Radio Network
National League East Standings
|
Team |
Wins | Losses | Games Back |
| New York Mets | 5 | 2 | — |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 3 | 3 | 1.5 |
| Atlanta Braves | 3 | 4 | 2.0 |
| Washington Nationals | 3 | 4 | 2.0 |
| Miami Marlins | 1 | 4 | 3.0 |
Probable Starters
Thursday: Kyle Gibson vs. Sandy Alcantara
Friday: Zach Efflin vs. Pablo Lopez
Saturday: Ranger Suarez vs. Trevor Rogers
Sunday: Zack Wheeler vs. Elieser Hernandez
What to Watch For…
- The Phillies are averaging 4.17 runs scored a game against the current group of Marlins pitchers
- Bryce Harper has hit 34 home runs, 34 doubles, and driven in 103 runs in 155 career games against the Marlins
- J.T. Realmuto is a .243 hitter with 23 home runs and 113 RBI's in his 278-game career at Marlins/loanDepot Park
