Jarred Cosart (13-11, 3.69 ERA) and Chris Archer (0-1, 4.76 ERA) are on the hill in the second of a three-game series between the Miami Marlins (1-3) and the Tampa Bay Rays (1-3) at Marlins Park. The Marlins won the last game 10-9 and Miami leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 4:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, Apr. 11 and can be seen on SunSports and FSN-FL.
Cosart will take the mound after recording 180.1 innings last year, closing out the season with a 13-11 record, 3.69 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 115 strikeouts. Dee Gordon (.353 ) kept up his hot start yesterday, going 3 for 5 with four runs and two stolen bases. Against the Marlins, Archer is 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and eight strikeouts. Kevin Kiermaier (.385 ) has been successful at the plate to the start the season for the Rays, going 2 for 4 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and two RBIs.
Miami is a -127 favorite against Tampa Bay and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. Logging a disappointing -407 overall money line and 0-3 record as favorite, the Marlins have had a difficult start to the season. Miami is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping four bases.
Tampa Bay is excellent at drawing walks with 5.0 per game, ranking second in the AL. Tampa Bay’s pitching staff has set the standard for its league, with an AL-low 0.00 ERA on the road. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Rays are fourth in the AL with an average of 5.7 hits allowed per game.
The Marlins have the edge in the season series, 1-0.
Predictions: SU Winner – TB, O/U – Over
Notes
Tampa Bay has lost all of its games (0-2) when leading after 7 innings. However, Miami has won 33% (1-2) of its games when taking a late lead.
The Marlins managed to give up six walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Rays who are coming in with a 1-1 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When outhit, both the Marlins and the Rays have records of 0-1.
Miami ranks near the bottom of the league at 28th when it comes to home runs, hitting zero this season. Tampa Bay ranks in the top 10 at seventh with four.
Ranking 12th, Miami is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 6.33 per game. Tampa Bay ranks in the top 10 at 10th with 6.00.
Ranking 19th, Miami is in the bottom half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.606). Tampa Bay ranks in the top 10 at 10th with an OPS of .706.
