Gameday: Phillies (21-23) vs. Marlins (12-32)
LHP Cole Hamels (1-6, 4.61 ERA) v. RHP Alex Sanabia (2-6, 5.00 ERA)
TIME: 7:10, Marlins Park
TV: Comcast SportsNet
Weather: 78, mostly cloudy
Media: Twitter and Facebook
On Monday night in Miami, Cole Hamels will get his third crack at the Marlins lineup this year. It has been a disappointing 2013 for the Phillies left-hander, and no starts epitomize his misfortune quite like the first two he’s made against the Fish. Hamels has pitched 14 innings against Miami, giving up only one earned run, seven hits and three walks. In those 14 innings – 13 of which came against rookie sensation Jose Fernandez – the Phillies offense was dormant, scoring zero runs for Hamels and leaving him with an 0-1 record despite a microscopic ERA.
To be fair, Hamels’ ERA for the year is an unacceptable 4.61, well above his career mark of 3.39. He needs to be better. After getting rocked in his first two starts, Hamels put together six consecutive quality starts and looked to be back on track, despite going 1-3 over that stretch due to the aforementioned lack of run support. But he struggled again last week against the Indians, surrendering five earned runs. Unable to put Cleveland hitters away, Cole ran too many deep counts and the result was 106 pitches in only five innings of work. Hopefully facing a Miami lineup that is last in baseball in runs will help him return to the form that warranted a six-year, $144 million contract extension last summer.
Lucky for Hamels, the Phillies hitters won’t have to face Fernandez again until Tuesday night. On Monday, they get Alex Sanabia who – surprise, surprise – also has had success against the Phils, with a 2.45 ERA in two career starts. Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz are both out of the lineup as the team awaits the results of their MRIs. This gives Phillies fans another look at Freddy Galvis who, after his Sunday afternoon walk-off home run, has an incredible OPS of .864 (he posted a .617 OPS in 190 at-bats last season). With seven games against the Nationals and Red Sox looming, the Phillies need to take care of business in South Florida.
Lineup: Rollins SS, Revere CF, M. Young 1B, Utley 2B, Brown LF, D. Young RF, Galvis 3B, Kratz C, Hamels P
Courtesy of Ryan Dinger: Typically I like to pick a craft beer for these, but the Marlins always remind me of Margaritaville’s Landshark. Partly because of the state of Florida and its tropical climate, but mainly because Landshark Stadium was the name of their former home in their last season there. Landshark is an Island Lager without a lot of flash. It is, in essence, a much-improved version of Corona. Easy on the eyes and even easier on the pallet, Landshark is a beer ideal for a lager fan looking for a quality beer without an overly complex taste. It will compliment literally anything you want to have to eat with it. – RD
