Marlins Hope To Avoid 4-Game Sweep, Get Jennings First Win
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – It's been a rough couple of weeks for the Miami Marlins.
The man guiding the Marlins might be different, but the results remain the same.
Still searching for their first victory under new manager Dan Jennings, the offensively challenged Marlins try to avoid a seventh consecutive defeat and first home sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 16 seasons Thursday.
Miami (16-25) was competitive in the first two games of this series since Jennings moved from the front office to the dugout, but trailed by three runs after two innings and didn't get its first hit until the fifth of Wednesday's 6-1 loss.
Losers in nine of 10, the Marlins are batting .198 while being outscored 29-11 over the last six contests.
"This is going to turn, but we're in a storm right now," Jennings said. "It's frustrating."
Jennings tried to mix things up Wednesday by having Marcell Ozuna hit second and Martin Prado down at the cleanup spot. Though each had a hit, Justin Bour recorded the Marlins' other two hits.
"Sometimes you've got to move pieces here or there until you get the right formula," Jennings said. "I'm sure the colonel tried a lot of recipes before he came up with his secret one for the chicken so we're going to keep working it until we find ours."
Miami should at least be pleased Mat Latos (1-4, 5.54 ERA) will start after leaving Saturday's outing against Atlanta in the fourth inning, when he took a line drive to the shin. Though the right-hander is sore, X-rays were negative.
Latos allowed two runs and nine hits over 13 1-3 innings to go 1-0 in his first two May starts before yielding five runs and eight hits in three-plus innings of that 5-3 loss to the Braves. He is 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in eight starts against the Diamondbacks but last faced them in 2013.
Trying to sweep its first road series from the Marlins since 1999, Arizona (18-21) hopes Archie Bradley (2-1, 3.27) can bounce back after he gave up four runs, five hits and three walks in two-plus innings of Saturday's 7-5 loss at Philadelphia in his first outing since taking a batted ball to the face April 28.
Bradley, who went 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA in his first three career starts before lasting 1 1-3 innings in the game he was injured, said he's not taking a tentative approach to pitching after the incident.
"No, not at all," he said. "It's kind of out of my mind right now. ... I prepared myself to get ready for (his last start)."
Manager Chip Hale is confident the Diamondbacks' prized prospect can successfully move forward.
"It's just hard to keep your stuff sharp not pitching in games, and he needs to pitch," Hale said. "He's a young guy that needs to be on schedule, and hopefully next time out he'll throw better.
"It's part of the development. He's not a finished product at all.
Fourth-year Arizona outfielder A.J. Pollock went 0 for 6 in Monday's series opener but is 4 for 5 with five runs scored in the last two.
Miami's Dee Gordon is 1 for 12 during the set, and saw his average drop to .395 and below .400 for the first time since April 27.
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