Rather than playing like a last-place team, the Miami Marlins are one victory away from winning their third straight series.
The host Marlins will take on the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, fresh off a 3-2 win in 10 innings on Monday.
Miami still has the most losses in the National League (33), but it has won six of its past eight games. It has five walk-off wins on the season, including Monday’s, where Josh Bell ripped a game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th.
Bell hit just .167 in April, but he is batting .328 in May.
“After the start I had,” Bell said following Monday’s win, “any success feels amazing.”
The Marlins set a major league record last year in the category of one-run games, going 12-0 in such situations to start the season.
“It feels like Marlins baseball again, doesn’t it?” Bell asked.
Despite Bell’s enthusiasm, these Marlins are a long way from the 2023 team, which won 84 games and made the playoffs for the first time in a full season since 2003.
“Just ride the wave,” Bell said. “Baseball is tough, but it seems like we’re on the upswing now.”
Tuesday night’s game features a battle of left-handers. Trevor Rogers (1-6, 5.79 ERA) starts for Miami, and he will go up against rookie Robert Gasser (2-0, 0.82).
The Marlins, who have won consecutive series for the first time this season, are hoping to get Rogers going.
Maybe the sight of Brewers uniforms will do the trick. Rogers is 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA in three career starts covering 16 1/3 innings against Milwaukee.
The Marlins, though, are just 1-8 this year when Rogers starts.
Gasser, who turns 25 on May 31, was San Diego’s second-round pick out of the University of Houston in 2021. He has won both of his major league appearances, relying on a put-away sweeper. He also works up in the zone with his fastball and down with a sinker.
Offensively, the Brewers, the NL Central leaders, are elite.
They are tied for third in the majors in runs while sitting third in steals, fourth in homers and tied for fifth in walks.
In other words, they have power, speed and patience.
Milwaukee’s speed — and savvy — showed up on Monday, as Christian Yelich stole home, waiting for catcher Nick Fortes to lob the ball back to the pitcher before making his break.
“(Yelich’s) play is epic,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “Have you seen anything like that? Not too often.”
Aside from Yelich — who was the NL’s MVP in 2018 — catcher William Contreras has emerged as a key part of Milwaukee’s offense.
Contreras, who served as designated hitter on Monday, is likely to return to his catching duties on Tuesday. He has seven homers and a team-high 37 RBIs.
Last year, Contreras led the team in extra-base hits (38 doubles, one triple, 17 homers). He won a World Series title in 2021, and he was an All-Star in 2022, accomplishing both feats with the Braves.
–Field Level Media
