The Miami Marlins will attempt to secure their first series win of the season when they face the visiting San Francisco Giants on Wednesday.
Miami won for just the fourth time in its first 18 games on Tuesday when left-hander Ryan Weathers struck out a career-high 10 batters over six innings in a 6-3 victory.
“He navigated that lineup as good as anybody,” Miami manager Skip Schumaker said. “It’s a really good team, some really good right-handers that can hit lefties well, especially at the top.”
San Francisco will send Keaton Winn (0-3, 5.06 ERA) to the mound on Wednesday. Winn has lost his first three starts despite pitching at least five innings in each outing.
The 26-year-old right-hander up two runs on five hits and three walks with six strikeouts over five frames in a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday.
Winn will be making his first career appearance against Miami.
The Marlins will counter with left-hander Trevor Rogers (0-2, 4.80 ERA), who allowed two runs on eight hits over five-plus innings in an 8-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday. He fanned five and walked one.
On Tuesday, the Giants struck out 13 times and lost for the third time in five games on their six-game Florida road trip. San Francisco outfielder Jorge Soler is batting .219 with three homers and five RBIs after going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Tuesday loss.
“We haven’t been able to do our jobs, especially me,” Soler said. “When we’ve put runners in scoring position, I haven’t been able to drive them in so far.”
Giants center fielder Jung Hoo Lee extended his hitting streak to eight games on Tuesday and continued to impress his new teammates. Lee was signed to a six-year, $113 million contract in December after starring in the Korea Baseball Organization.
“He hits the ball hard again and again,” Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski said. “That’s just who he is. I don’t think people have recognized that because of the ball flight. It’s so pure and he keeps it low. I don’t think people understand how hard that is to do consistently.”
If the Giants are to avoid losing the series, they will have to do so against a pitcher who was not originally scheduled to start Wednesday.
Rogers is pitching on regular rest in place of scheduled starter A.J. Puk, who was ruled out due to illness.
Rogers, 26, made only four starts last season before going on the injured list with a left biceps strain. He is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA in two career outings against San Francisco.
The Marlins are hoping to build on a strong performance from their bullpen in the Tuesday victory. Tanner Scott earned his second save of the season after Calvin Faucher recorded five outs in the late innings.
Miami’s bullpen faltered in the series opener Monday when the Giants rallied with three runs in the seventh inning to win 4-3. Schumaker hasn’t settled on his high-leverage relievers yet.
“I’m still trying to figure out roles right now,” he said. “We’re putting guys in different spots to see who can do it. Some guys run to the stage, some guys run from it. We’re trying to figure out who is trying to run to it right now.”
The Marlins are playing without catcher Christian Bethancourt, who was placed on the 10-day injured list due to a viral illness on Monday. Catcher Jhonny Pereda was promoted from Triple-A Jacksonville to fill Bethancourt’s spot.
–Field Level Media