When the Florida Marlins went to Texas to face the Houston Astros on April 8, they arrived with a record of 3-3. They left three days later with 5-4 and went on to win 11 of their next 15 games. Conversely, the Astros won seven games during the same stretch, and it looked like the teams would be on opposite trajectories for the remainder of the season. But, when the two meet this week in Miami, the Marlins record will be much closer to that of the Astros than the team would like.
Looking back, the series in Houston was sadly emblematic of what the Marlins season would become. Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez was injured during the first game, a fate that met by almost every important Marlin at some point after that. A potential series sweep was lost because of a poor pitching performance from Anibal Sanchez, and though he has been the most consistent Marlin all season, the team has continued to struggle with inconsistent performances from its starting pitchers. The partners in misery will meet Sunday at Sun Life Stadium.
Sun., July 10, 1:10 p.m., 2011