Phillies at Marlins
It was only a matter of time before the slumbering bats of the Miami Marlins broke out of an offensive funk that had produced only two runs in 36 innings. After ending a five-game slide by establishing season highs in runs and hits with a 10-3 rout of visiting Philadelphia, the Marlins will look to post their first series win against the visiting Phillies on Sunday afternoon.
An unlikely catalyst for Miami's eruption on Saturday was rookie Austin Dean, who was called up from Triple-A New Orleans on Friday and delivered the only run in a 9-1 series-opening mauling. The franchise's minor-league player of the year in 2018, Dean set career highs in hits (four) and RBIs (five) and came up a double shy of the cycle Saturday to spark the Marlins' 18-hit attack. Pitching continues to be a concern for Philadelphia, which has dropped three of its last four games and allowed at least 10 runs in each of the losses. The Phillies averted a shutout by scoring three times in the ninth Saturday, getting a two-run double from Nick Williams and an RBI single by Odubel Herrera.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Vince Velasquez (0-0, 3.00 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jose Urena (0-3, 9.22)
After striking out two in a scoreless inning of relief in his season debut at Washington, Velasquez turned in a solid start against the Nationals six days later, working five innings and allowing two runs on four hits in a no-decision. The 26-year-old made four of his 30 starts last season versus the Marlins and posted a 2-1 record with a 3.72 ERA and .211 batting average against. While Brian Anderson and Starlin Castro each are 1-for-9 against Castro, Dean is 2-for-3 with a double.
Urena remains a notoriously slow starter, losing each of his three outings to fall to 0-7 with a 5.97 ERA in his career when making starts in March and April. He made it through five innings for the first time at Cincinnati on Tuesday and was tagged for four runs after yielding five earned runs in both of his first two appearances against the New York Mets and Colorado. Andrew McCutchen is 4-for-8 against Urena, who was 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA in five starts versus the Phillies in 2018.
WALK-OFFS
1. Anderson hit his first homer Saturday to improve to 6-for-10 in his last three games.
2. Phillies 3B Maikel Franco is 5-for-32 over his last nine games.
3. Marlins SS Miguel Rojas went 3-for-3 on Saturday just hours after manager Don Mattingly said he will be the full-time starter at the position.