With a 5-0 victory on Wednesday afternoon the Florida Marlins completed a series sweep of the Padres after being swept by the Phillies just a few days back. It seems as though the Marlins continue on their late-June trend to sweep or be swept. As a result of winning, the Fish are now 5.5 games behind the Phillies, who snapped their 10-game win streak against the Cubs, and are back in second place in the N.L. East. Not to mention, they moved into 6th place behind the Wild Card spot with 3.5 games behind the Rockies. All of this occurred under the fact that Florida has not gone into San Diego and swept the Padres since 1993.
The offense has not completely returned for the Marlins, but it has improved since their five runs in three games versus the Phillies last week. What has definitely been solid is the pitching from their starters. Rick VandenHurk, Chris Volstad and Ricky Nolasco all combined for a total of three earned runs and 16 strike outs (10 of which came from Nolasco).
The antes will be raised after tomorrow's one night rest. The Marlins stay in San Diego for a day and then head over to Los Angeles to face off against the hottest team in baseball. If the Marlins want to consider themselves contenders and prove to their fans that they are not pretenders, then they must go out and win their series against the Dodgers.
Last time the Dodgers played against the Fish they dismantled them in South Florida, taking two out of three games and scoring a total of 21 runs in that stretch. If the Marlins hope to get pay back, their pitching must stay stellar and their bats must awaken from their dreary slumber. Entering "Mannywood" will be hostile and the only way to come out alive is by playing like the season is on the line.
It's lights, camera, action for the Marlins and there's only one take in this film. They better have their best performance on showcase.
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