Marlins at Cardinals
Dexter Fowler sputtered through a disastrous May and the beginning of June wasn't much better until he started flexing his muscles at the plate. Fresh off hitting his third homer in four contests, Fowler looks to send the St. Louis Cardinals to their seventh win in nine outings on Tuesday when they continue their four-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins.
Fowler's three-run homer in the eighth inning salted away a 5-0 win in the series opener and gave him three RBIs in three of his last four games. Matt Carpenter also went deep and had a double and single to match the hit total from his previous six contests. While St. Louis is ascending in the National League Central, Miami's 13th shutout of the season resulted in its ninth loss in the last 11 contests to make itself comfortable in the NL East cellar. Brian Anderson went 2-for-4 in the series opener and is 6-for-15 in four games versus the Cardinals this season.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, FS Florida (Miami), FS Midwest (St. Louis)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins RH Jordan Yamamoto (1-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Cardinals RH Jack Flaherty (4-3, 4.28)
Yamamoto put forth a sterling performance in his major league debut on Wednesday by scattering three hits over seven innings in a 9-0 win versus St. Louis. The 23-year-old Hawaiian, who mixed off-speed pitches with efficiency, even added to the offense by executing a successful suicide squeeze bunt in the sixth inning. Acquired in the Christian Yelich trade, Yamamoto recorded a 3.58 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 12 starts (65 1/3 innings) with Double-A Jacksonville prior to being summoned to the Marlins in place of injured right-hander Jose Urena (back).
Flaherty received his fifth consecutive no-decision on Thursday after allowing four runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings against the New York Mets. The 23-year-old has been taken deep four times in his last three trips to the mound after surrendering two homers in his previous six starts. Flaherty looks to avenge a porous performance in his lone meeting with Miami, against which he yielded six runs on eight hits over five innings of an 11-3 loss on June 6, 2018.
WALK-OFFS
1. Miami 1B-RF Garrett Cooper, who is riding a 10-game hitting streak, is 6-for-16 against St. Louis this season.
2. Cardinals 3B Jedd Gyorko (lower back strain) likely will be activated from the injured list prior to Tuesday's contest.
3. Marlins OF Harold Ramirez is 12-for-35 with five runs scored in his last nine games.