Marlins Take on A.L. East

Since the inception of inter-league play in 1997, the Florida Marlins have compiled a National League best 111-93 record. Out of those 204 games, 67 percent of them have come against the American League East.

The N.L. East and A.L. East faced each other every year until 2002 when the Commissioner decided to have teams face a different division every year. Here's a breakdown of a team-by-team match-up between the Marlins the A.L. East teams.

• All time vs. Toronto 14-4: This weekend the Marlins begin a 15 game stretch against thier A.L. counterparts. They begin with a trip to Toronto where they will face thier 5th Cy Young winner in 7 days. Roy Halladay an early front runner for the Cy Young Award this year. He is 10-1 with a 2.52 era in 13 games.


• All time vs. Boston 8-12: From Toronto, Florida flies to Boston. They will not see former Marlins pitcher and World Series MVP Josh Beckett. Big Papi has not been him self this year and that's good news for the Fish. We will see if Florida can enter a raucous Fenway Park and win a few games on Boston's home field.


• All Time vs. New York 7-10: The Marlins will just miss another former pitcher in the Yankee rotation - A.J. Burnett. The Marlins have only played one series against the Yankees in Miami since the 2003 World Series. Both teams have retooled and revamped themselves since that 2003 face-off and are ready to see what the other squad brings to the table.


• All Time vs. Baltimore 13-5: It's obvious that Florida has historically dominated Baltimore in their occasional match-ups. Both teams have young, rising stars that can be a handful for the opposing team on any given night. Adam Jones (.329), Brian Roberts (.307) and Nick Markakis (.287) are batting well for the Orioles and will be present tough at bats for Marlins pitchers. At the same time, Hanley Ramirez and Jorge Cantu should be back and healthy to help out the Marlins offense.


• All Time vs. Tampa Bay 36-28: The Citrus Series is always a friendly rivalry between the Marlins and Rays. This will be another match-up between two young teams with offensive firepower, yet sporadic pitching poise. Expect to see plenty of runs and exciting plays, but don't be surprised with all the pitching changes that will go on. May the best Florida team win.

The Verdict

In general, the Marlins have had success this season against A.L. teams. Before the Cardinals came into town the Marlins had compiled a short run of decent pitching and they hope to recapture those pitching performances from their starters once the A.L. East match-ups begin. We expect the Marlins to either finish with an overall winning record versus the A.L. East teams or break even by the end of the stretch of inter-league play.