Last night, your Florida Marlins finished a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves and their tomahawk-choppin' entourage (still doing that, Braves fans? Awesome.) Here's how it all went down:
Game 1, Marlins 6 - Braves 4: Tuesday night, the Braves trotted out starter Kenshin Kawakami, a guy whose season so far can only be described as Biff Loman-esque. The results were what one would expect. Not so much because Kawakami is a terrible pitcher, but more because the Braves flat out refused to give him any run support. Maybe Kawakami should start letting some of the guys win the clubhouse Poker tournaments. Kawakami gave up three earned runs on seven hits, including a solo homerun to Cameron Maybin who's beginning to show some promise - although he still looks like a lanky teenage boy.
Cody Ross tacked on two RBIs himself, leading the Marlins to the game one victory and extending Kawakami's record to 0-7. Oh Kenshin Kawakami, if only we could play against you every night.
Game 2, Marlins 3 - Braves 7: Nate Robertson pitched six innings,
striking out five. He then handed things over to his bullpen with a 2-1
lead. That's when Fredi Gonzalez decided to go with his "meh, fuck it"
strategy, bringing in Burke Badenhop and his 0-4, 6.43 ERA in relief.
Badenhop gave up two runs and the lead, followed by Dan Meyer and Brian
Sanches, who gave up three combined runs of their own. The lone
highlight of the game: Hanley Ramirez's solo shot in the first. Oh and
the fact that he didn't kick any baseballs while playing defense.
Game 3, Marlins 3 - Braves 8: An hour and seventeen minute rain
delay means only one thing: The bullpens will decide this game. Also, it
means things are about to get really shitty for the Marlins. Once
again, the bullpen came in and made a mess of things, including Dan
Meyer's five walks and three earned runs late in the game. Dan Meyer's
ERA now stands at 10.80. Damn you, Mother Nature!! The series loss drops
the Marlins to 24-24, good enough for fourth place in the NL East.
Highlights: Game one winner Anibal Sanchez's last three games have
been his best since 2006 - when he threw a no-hitter in his first year
as a Marlin - and he's been quietly solid lately. Perhaps that's because
if someone actually takes notice of it, Anibal's shoulder will explode.
SHHHHH!!
Lowlights: Is there another team out there that features such
solid starters and such craptastical relief pitchers? We're gonna go
with NO.
Up Next: A Memorial
Day weekend series against the suddenly struggling Phillies.
Nothing says "Summer's here!" quite like the smell of broiling flesh
during a 1:10 PM start at Sun
Life Stadium. GO FISH!
