Marlins, Jays Send Their Best To The Mound
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TORONTO (CBSMiami/AP) – The Miami Marlins will face a familiar foe on Tuesday night in Toronto.
Mark Buehrle has very few fond memories of the brief time he spent with the Marlins.
He'd much rather focus on continuing his current outstanding stretch for the Toronto Blue Jays.
The veteran left-hander will try to extend the Toronto's season-best winning streak to seven while becoming the first to throw three straight complete games in five years.
Buehrle was part of a surprisingly high-priced club that had lofty expectations in 2012 when Miami opened the taxpayer-financed Marlins Park. He signed a four-year deal as part of Miami's spending spree with a chance to be reunited with Ozzie Guillen, who had been his manager with the White Sox.
However, his tenure with the team lasted only one tumultuous season as the Marlins finished last in the NL East. Guillen was fired and owner Jeffrey Loria ordered a huge reduction in payroll.
Buehrle delivered a parting shot to management following his trade to Toronto after that season.
"I'm upset with how things turned out in Miami," he said in a statement. "Just like the fans in South Florida, I was lied to on multiple occasions."
Now Buehrle (7-4, 4.35 ERA) is having a resurgence after a rough start to his third season with the Blue Jays (29-30). After going the distance in a 6-4 win at Minnesota on May 29, he scattered six hits in an 8-0 victory at Washington on Wednesday to lower his ERA over his last six starts to 2.84.
Buehrle, who hadn't pitched back-to-back complete games since 2004, can become the first pitcher with three in a row since Philadelphia's Cliff Lee did it from June 16-28, 2011.
He'll likely have to contend with Giancarlo Stanton as he tries to extend a 17-inning scoreless streak. Stanton went 3 for 4 and tied for the MLB lead with his 19th home run in Monday's 11-3 defeat.
Marcell Ozuna is batting .400 during a nine-game hitting streak after going 2 for 4 in the opener.
The Marlins (24-34) are turning to Dan Haren (6-2, 3.18) as they try to bounce back with their fifth win in seven games and put themselves in position to win their fourth straight series following a 3-14 stretch.
Haren has gone 2-0 with a 2.36 ERA in his last four starts after earning his second straight victory in Wednesday's 7-3 home win over the Cubs. The right-hander allowed three runs over 5 2-3 innings.
"Dan Haren set the tone again," manager Dan Jennings said. "Win No. 6."
Haren is 7-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 12 career starts against the Blue Jays, though he hasn't faced them since 2012. Jose Bautista, 6 for 20 with three home runs off Haren, is batting .400 over a 12-game hitting streak.
Josh Donaldson is just 1 for 9 in the matchup, but is 4 for 10 in his last two games and hit his 16th homer Monday. Chris Colabello extended MLB's longest active hitting streak to 18 games with a single.
Red-hot Toronto is batting .302 with seven homers while scoring at least six runs in six straight games - its best such streak since a seven-game run in 2000.
"I don't think any part of our lineup has a real hole in it," third baseman Danny Valencia said. "One to nine it's tough. Coming in here and pitching against us has got to be hard."
Edwin Encarnacion, who has 12 homers, is expected back after missing two games with a shoulder injury.
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