MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins tonight play the second game of a three-game series at St. Louis. Is the second stop on a six-game road trip that opened in Baltimore with the Marlins suffering a three-game sweep. Following this series, the Marlins return home for an off day on Thursday followed by a three-game weekend series against the Rockies before they head back out on the road.
FISH BYTES
- The Marlins are off to their second-best start to a season through the club’s first 96 gms.
- Miami owns the third-most wins in NL, behind ATL (61) and LAD (54); t-6th most in MLB.
- Miami ranks 4th in MLB with a .265 AVG trailing only TEX (.274), ATL (.270), and BOS (.265). Ranked 27th last year.
WINNING WAYS
Miami sits at 10 G over .500, 4 games shy of their season-high water mark. This year is just the third season the Marlins have been at least 14 games over .500 at any point (also ’97 – finished 22 games over; and ’03 – finished 20 games over).
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami dropped the series opener in St. Louis, 6-4. LHP Jesus Luzardo made his first start post All-Star Break, going 4.0 innings and allowing 3 runs (2 earned) with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts. RHP Dylan Floro took the loss in relief, allowing 3 runs in an inning of work. LF Bryan De La Cruz (2×4) homered and doubled. RF Jesus Sanchez (1×4) added a game-tying solo home run in the sixth inning.
CABBY BACK
RHP Edward Cabrera returns to action today after being reinstated from the injured list (right shoulder impingement). Is looking for his first road win of the season (0-5, 6.50).
SKID ROW
The Marlins have lost 4 straight games for the first time since a season-high five-game losing streak from May 2-6, and just the third time this season (also 4 straight, April 23-26). Will return home with a losing record on a road trip for just the second time all season (also April 22-27, 3-4 at Cleveland and Atlanta).
FISH IN THE LOU
The Marlins took 3 of 4 from the Cardinals in their visit to loanDepot park last month. Need just one 1 win in this set to secure their first winning season series against the Cardinals since 2016. Are 46-62 all-time in St. Louis, including a 21-30 mark at the current stadium.
ALLOW ME TO INTRODUCE MYSELF
OF Dane Myers (who was taken by the Marlins in the minor league phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft) has reached base safely in 8 of his first 10 career gms with 6 multi-hit contests, batting .444 (16×36) with 7 runs, 2 doubles, 1 HR, and 8 RBI. Marks the most hits by a Marlins player through his first 10 career gms (prev. high was 15 by Charles LeBlanc and Harold Ramirez).
LA REGADERA
2B Luis Arraez leads MLB with his .378 AVG (131×347), .428 OBP, and 131 hits. Has struck out just 20x in 381 PA, a .053 K/PA, the lowest mark in MLB among qualifiers. Is hitting .464 (32×69) with RISP, also the best mark among qualifiers.
- Marks the most hits and highest avg. by a Marlins player through his first 90 gms of a season.
- His 36 multi-hit games are tied for 2nd most in MLB. Has a Major League-most 13 games of at least 3 hits. Owns 6 games with at least 4 hits this year, most in the Majors and most ever by a Marlins player in a single season.
- Is one of only 6 batters since 1990 to hit .378 or higher through his team’s first 96 games of a season, joining Nomar Garciaparra (.399, 2000), Larry Walker (.402, 1997), Tony Gwynn (.395 in 1997), John Olerud (.396 in 1993) and Andres Galarraga (.389, 1993).
SOLER POWER
DH/OF Jorge Soler ranks 5th in the NL with 24 HRs this season (tied for 7th in the Majors). His 23 homers before the break marked the most home runs by a Marlins player prior to the All-Star break since 2017 – Marcell Ozuna (23) and Giancarlo Stanton (26). Mike Lowell owns the club record for most home runs before the All-Star break, with 28 in 2003.
- 13 of his 24 homers (54%) have tied the game or given the Marlins the lead. Has hit 15 HR on the road in 2023, tied for third most in MLB behind Shohei Ohtani (17) and Pete Alonso (16).
GOLDEN GLOVES
Marlins infielders have combined for a .989 fielding pct. in 2023, committing just 21 errors in 1,856 total chances. Marks the second-best fielding pct. by an infield in the Majors behind the Padres (.991).
- 2B Luis Arraez has committed just 2 errors in 358 chances for a .994 fielding pct. that is tops among MLB second basemen with at least 200.0 innings played at the position.
ON THE MOUND
The Marlins pitching staff leads the National League with 894 strikeouts. Miami starters combined to strike out 509 batters in the first half, the most in club history prior to the All-Star Break. Relievers combined to strike out 359 batters, good for the second-most prior to the Break in club history (365 in 2018).
- Marlins starters have combined to limit opponents to 1 or 0 earned runs 39x – only San Diego (40) and Tampa Bay (50) have recorded more such starts in 2023.
WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND
- This Friday at loanDepot park: HEAT Celebration Night – the special ticket package is available at Marlins.com/HEAT, and features an exclusive limited edition, co-branded Marlins-HEAT shirt, with a portion of the proceeds – $3.05 – from each sale benefitting the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund; and Flashback Friday (info below)
- Saturday: Nicaraguan Heritage Celebration with a first pitch by UM basketball player and Nicaraguan-native Norchad Omier • Sunday: The first 8,000 fans can complete their summer wardrobe with the Marlins tropical shirt, presented by Goya.
WHEN MIGGY COMES TO TOWN
The Marlins will celebrate the legacy of Miguel Cabrera – originally signed by the Marlins in 1999 out of Maracay, Venezuela – during the Tigers’ visit to loanDepot park July 28-30. The club will don their 1993 teal pinstripe throwback uniforms as part of the 2023 Flashback Friday series, and there will be a special pre-game ceremony that Friday (July 28) for Miggy. Fans should arrive early with ceremonies expected to start at 6:15 p.m.
TODAY’S STARTER – #27 EDWARD CABRERA
- Edward Brany Cabrera, 25, will make his first career start against the St. Louis Cardinals today and his 15th start of the season.
- Reinstated from the 15-Day IL prior to today’s game. Missed 27 games with right shoulder impingement, starting June 14.
- In his last start on June 13 at Seattle, took the loss, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks over 4.0 innings while striking out 4.
- His 10-strikeout performance on June 2 vs. OAK marked the second of his career, both coming this season (other, 12 K on 4/29 vs. CHC.) Is the only Marlins pitcher to record douuble-digit strikeouts in multiple starts this season.
- With his 12-strikeout performance on April 29 vs. CHC, became the second pitcher in Marlins history to record 12 strikeouts in a start that lasted no more than 5.0 innings (also, Jesus Luzardo on April 12, 2022).
- Left-handed batters are hitting .167 (22×132) vs. Cabrera in 2023 with 6 home runs and 48 strikeouts while right-handed batters are hitting .272 (31×114) with 3 home runs and 36 strikeouts.
- In 6 starts at home this season, owns a 2.61 ERA (31.0/9) and has gone 5-0 with 42 strikeouts. In 8 starts away is 0-5 with a 6.50 ERA (36.0/26) and 42 strikeouts.
- In 16 career starts at home, owns a 3.87 ERA (79.0/34) and has gone 8-4 with 83 strikeouts. In 19 starts away is 3-8 with a 4.40 ERA (86.0/42) and 104 strikeouts.
ST. LOUIS CARDINALS NOTES:
RECENT REDBIRDS: The St. Louis Cardinals and visiting Miami Marlins play the second game of a three-game series tonight at Busch Stadium as the Cardinals continue their six-game homestand … St. Louis took two-of-three from the Nationals this weekend to clinch its first season series win (4-2 record) against an NL team (3-0 at Boston; 2-1 vs. Yankees; 2-1 vs. Toronto), while \also marking consecutive series wins at home (July 1-3 vs. Yankees) for the first time since May 15-21 vs. the Brewers and Dodgers.
FLIGHT PATTERN: The Cardinals enter today tied with Pittsburgh for 4th place in the National League Central, 11.0 games behind 1st place Milwaukee … St. Louis is currently not in 5th place for the first time since May 28 (50 days) … The Cardinals have spent 80 of 107 days in last place on this season’s MLB schedule (April 26-May 19 & May 29-present) … This season is the Cardinals slowest start since 1995 when they were 39-55 (.415) after 94 games.
TIME TO FLY: The Cardinals have won three in a row and six of their last eight games since July 6 … St. Louis has won three straight home games for the first time since September 16-17, 2022 … A win tonight would give the Cardinals their 3rd straight series victory and match their season-best four-game winning streak for the 3rd time (May 12-15 & June 17-20).
FISH FRY: The Cardinals’ all-time .602 win pct. (130-86) vs. the Marlins (1993-present) is their 3rd-best against any opponent behind the Diamondbacks (.615, 104-65) and Royals (.607, 74-48) … Only the Braves (.604, 308-202) have a better win pct. over Miami since the Fish joined MLB as an expansion team in 1993 … The Cardinals have won nine of their last 12 home games over the Fish. (chart left)
NOOT NEWS: Lars Nootbaar has hit safely in a career-best 11 consecutive games (.289/.360/.422, 13-45) since July 3, MLB’s 2nd-longest active hit streak to Boston’s Justin Turner (13) … Nootbaar has also reached base safely in 14 straight since July 1, one shy of his career best 15 in a row from last season.
WALKER’S CATCH NAMED PLAY OF THE WEEK: Major League Baseball named Jordan Walker’s run-saving diving catch in right field on Saturday night against the Nationals as this week’s Electric Play of the Week presented by Chevrolet … Walker covered 93 feet while topping out at 29.3 ft/sec to make the head-first diving catch, which was the fastest that Walker has ran in any game this season.
BACKSTOP BRILLIANCE: Since July 1, Cardinals catchers Willson Contreras, Ivan Herrera, and Andrew Knziner have hit safely in 12 of 14 games while combining to lead all MLB backstops in hits (24), batting average (.451), OBP (.525), OPS (1.250), and total bases (37) while sharing the league lead in doubles (5) and RBI (12). – stats as catcher only
MUST HAVE BEEN SOMETHING IN THAT TEA?: Willson Contreras has been on a tear since his final game in London in which he went 4-for-4 … Since June 25, Contreras leads MLB in batting average (.475, 19-40) and OBP (.571) while ranking 2nd in OPS (1.421) and 3rd in slugging (.850).
SUPERIOR SECOND HALVES: The Cardinals 925-669 (.581 win pct.) won-loss mark post All-Star break since 2000 is 2nd in MLB only to the New York Yankees (949-663, .589) … The Cardinals best post All-Star mark this century was a 51-24 (.680) run in 2004 … St. Louis has sported a winning record after the All-Star break in 19 of 22 seasons since 2000, including a 43-25 record last season (.632) that ranked 5th-best in MLB.
FAST BREAKS: The Cardinals best starts coming out of the All-Star break include an eight-game win streak in 1935 and a seven-gamer in 2010 … Their best 10-game mark coming out of the break was 9-1 in 1935 … Most recently, the 2015 Cardinals raced out to a 8-2 start after the break, while the 2022 Redbirds stumbled out of the gate 1-3 before winning nine of their next 10 games.
TONIGHT’S STARTING PITCHER: LHP JORDAN MONTGOMERY (6-7, 3.23)
TONIGHT’S GAME
NL Leaders: ERA (3.23, 12th); Losses (7, T-8th); HR/9 IP (0.87, 10th), Opponent GIDP (0.87, 13th).
- Makes his 19th start of the season and his 127th career (30th as a member of the Cardinals).
- Currently riding a season-high 4-straight decisions since snapping his 7-game losing skid. Is one win shy of matching his career-high win streak (5 games).
- Exited after one out in the 5th inning with hamstring issues in his last start. Had a 5-1 lead, but the Cardinals bullpen allowed seven runs in an 8-7 loss. Was his fourth straight starts holding his opposition ot one earned run or less (3-0, 1.09 ERA, 24.2 IP).
- Is 12-10 with a 3.219 ERA in 29 starts as a member of the Cardinals. St. Louis won 10-of-his-first-13 starts as a Cardinal, but have gone 4-12 over his last 16.
- The Cardinals have lost 9 of the 17 games he has started this season by one-run and/or shutout.
- Leads all Cardinals pitchers with 157 strikeouts since being acquired at the 2022 Trade Deadline (8/2/22); Miles Mikolas ranks 2nd with 131.
- Went seven consecutive starts (4/13-5/16) with three runs of support or fewer and three with zero (4/13, 4/24, 4/29).
- Has not walked a left-handed batter since being acquired by the Cardinals (99 total batters faced). Is the only pitcher in MLB who has faced 90+ left-handed batters without a walk to a LHB since Aug. 1, 2022.
- Has held his opposition to three earned runs or fewer in 79% (100-of-126) of his career starts.
- Is 9-5, 3.23 ERA at Busch Stadium in 18 starts, including a 4-3, 3.61 mark in 2023.
LAST TIME OUT
- Exited after one out in the 5th inning with hamstring issues. Had a 5-1 lead, but the Cardinals bullpen allowed seven runs in an 8-7 loss.
- Was his four straight starts holding his opposition to one earned run or less (3-0, 1.09 ERA, 24.2 IP).
DATE vs. RESULT DEC IP H R ER BB SO HR NP-S
7/7 @CWS L 8-7 ND 4.1 3 1 1 1 5 1 66-43
2023
- Finished June 7th in NL in ERA (1.71) & 12th in opp. BA (.212). Owns a career mark of 10-2 with a 2.91 ERA in June, his most total wins in any calendar month.
- Capped off month of June with 3rd-straight winning decision on Tue. in a 4-2 win over the Astros (6/27). Posted team-high 9th quality start & improved to 5-7 on the season.
- Won on the road for the 1st time since April 9 at MIL in a 9-3 win over Washington on 6/20 at Nationals Park, matching his season-high with 7.0 IP.
- Came away with a no-decision in the Cardinals 8-5 loss to the Giants in 10 innings at Busch Stadium on 6/14. Twirled his second consecutive quality start (7th overall) as the Cardinals lost for the 11th time in his 14 starts this season.
- Threw 6.0 scoreless innings of three-hit ball on 6/9 vs. CIN for his first win since April 9 at MIL. Snapped a stretch of 10 straight starts without a winning decision. Received more than four runs of support for the 3rd time this season and first since 4/9 at MIL.
