Marlins Look To Extend Win Streak To Four In A Row
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PHILADELPHIA (CBSMiami) - Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson may not just be facing the visiting Miami Marlins on Wednesday - he also might be auditioning for them as well. With the trade deadline on the horizon, the 29-year-old reportedly has piqued the interest of the Marlins (among others) as the team attempts to bolster the rotation in its quest for a postseason berth.
Christian Yelich has been a thorn in the side of Hellickson by going 5-for-11 in his career, and did his best to fluster the Phillies in Tuesday's 2-1 victory in 10 innings. The 24-year-old continued his standout season by belting a solo homer to extend his hitting streak to six games and adding an RBI single in the 10th to lift his average to .369 in 20 career contests at Citizens Bank Park.
While Miami has won three in a row and seven of its last eight to keep the heat on first-place Washington in the National League East, Philadelphia has dropped four of five on the heels of a strong stretch heading into the All-Star break.
Rookie Tommy Joseph went deep for the second straight contest on Tuesday and is 7-for-14 with three solo homers in four games versus Miami this season, with a solo blast highlighting a 3-for-3 effort versus Wednesday starter Wei-Yin Chen.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Marlins Wei-Yin Chen (5-3, 4.90 ERA) vs. Phillies Jeremy Hellickson (6-7, 4.03)
Chen has been struggled mightily to keep the ball in the park this season (19 homers in 18 starts), with two blasts in the fourth inning on Friday causing him to settle for a no-decision at St. Louis. The soon-to-be 31-year-old was taken deep on two occasions over two starts versus Philadelphia in May, with Chen going 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA. The veteran hurler allowed four runs on 11 hits in five innings of a no-decision on May 6 and yielded three runs in six frames of a 3-1 loss to the Phillies 11 nights later.
Hellickson suffered his first loss in nearly one month on Friday as he allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings of a 5-3 setback to the New York Mets. The two homers he allowed accounted for the first time he's been taken deep since yielding seven homers during a five-start stretch (May 30-June 20). Hellickson has faced Miami on two occasions this season, settling for a no-decision after logging 5 1/3 innings on May 7 before picking up the win following six strong innings in a 4-2 victory 11 nights later.
WALK-OFFS
1. Philadelphia 3B Maikel Franco is 1-for-21 in his last five games, including 0-for-10 with six strikeouts in this series.
2. Miami C J.T. Realmuto is 8-for-25 with six runs scored in his last six contests.
3. Excluding a four-hit performance on July 10, Phillies C Cameron Rupp is 2-for-24 with nine strikeouts during a seven-game stretch.
PREDICTION: Marlins 5, Phillies 2
By SportsDirect Inc.
