Marlins Record-Setting May Coming To An End
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The Miami Marlins will hate seeing the calendar turn to June on Friday. The Fish have been the hottest team in baseball since the beginning of May, winning a franchise record 20 games in the month.
The Marlins pitching staff has helped carry the Marlins, but it's also been the resurgence of power hitting right fielder Giancarlo Stanton who has helped the Marlins to their record-breaking month.
Stanton has boosted his average to .298 on the season through Tuesday night's action. He also leads the team in home runs (12), RBI's (37), and is tied for the team lead in runs scored with Hanley Ramirez with a total of 29.
Stanton has an on-base percentage of .369 and a slugging percentage of .579 through Tuesday night's game against the Washington Nationals.
On the pitching front, Mark Buehrle and Ricky Nolasco both lead the team with 5 wins on the season. Carlos Zambrano leads the team in strikeouts, while Anibal Sanchez has the starting rotation's lowest ERA at 2.57.
One of the problem spots in the Marlins' rotation has been pitching ace Josh Johnson. He's been inconsistent most of the year, but pitched a little better in May. For the season, Johnson has an ERA of 4.87 and is 2-3.
Another hiccup the Marlins have had to deal with is at the end of close games. The Marlins paid big money to have Heath Bell close out victories for the team, but he struggled mightily in April and has still not settled in.
Bell has appeared in 23 games, converted 9 of 13 save opportunities, and has a 2-3 record on the season. Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen has said repeatedly that he will stick with Bell as his closer for the near future.
The Marlins finish off a home stand against the Washington Nationals Wednesday night. The Marlins took the first two games in the series and will look for the sweep when they send Josh Johnson to the mound Wednesday.
