Wild Card Game Two Preview: Marlins at Phillies

Admin · October 4, 2023

The Marlins will have their backs against the walls for game two of the Wild Card Series with the Phillies on Wednesday night.

For a full recap of game one, click here.

Braxton Garrett will try and save Miami's playoff run, when he gets the start against Aaron Nola and the Phillies. Garrett made two starts against the Phillies this season and the results were not great. Garrett allowed six runs in his ten innings on the mound, with both outings coming at loanDepot Park. The Marlins did win both of those games and Garrett was credited with a win in one of them.

Philadelphia's lineup has combined for a 1.036 OPS against Garrett in their careers, with Alec Bohm, Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto leading the way. Bohm has gone 5-9 against Garrett, with a home run, two runs batted in and a walk. Turner has only faced Garrett seven times, but he has hit two home runs and walked once during those plate appearances. Realmuto meanwhile is 3-7 with a double, homer and three runs batted in against Garrett. Bryce Harper is not far behind the trio with three hits in nine at-bats, including two doubles.

Garrett only lasted four innings in his last outing, which came back on September 27th against the Mets. Miami's bullpen is well-rested and has all of its top arms available to pitch if needed. Miami will go to that pen rather early if necessary in this must-win game and it could be a game of matchups early on.

Aaron Nola has had success against the Marlins in his career, but struggled against them in 2023. The Marlins scored 13 runs off Nola in 16 innings this season and hit five home runs. Nola was 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in his three appearances against the Marlins this past season. The last of those outings came less than a month ago in this same ballpark, that was a game which Miami ended up losing 8-4.

Nola's career numbers against the Marlins are somewhat different, as the team has a slash line of .234/.267/.437 against him. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is 2-12 with seven strikeouts against Nola, while Josh Bell is 5-27 with four strikeouts. Bell though has homered twice off Nola during his career and has plated five runs. Jesus Sanchez is 2-13 against Nola, with a home run as one of those hits.

A few Marlins have had success against Nola, including batting champion Luis Arráez. In nine career at-bats, Arráez has three hits including a double and a triple. Jon Berti is 4-13 with a double and a home run of his own. Jorge Soler who went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts in game one, is 5-16 against Nola in his career.

Should the Marlins avoid a two-game sweep, the third and final game of the series would take place on Thursday.

Wednesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 8:08 p.m. on ESPN.

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Erick · October 4, 2023

I don’t really understand why Jacob Stallings is catching tonight. Seems like weird timing to do something for the first time this year, and Stallings isn’t a difference maker offensively to put him in there.

Also, I’m not sure if Garrett is capable of shutting down the Phillies lineup regardless of who is catching. Hopefully he can hang in there and we make it a bullpen game or something. It’s our only chance if we have one.

Michael · October 4, 2023

1 minute ago, Erick said:

I don’t really understand why Jacob Stallings is catching tonight. Seems like weird timing to do something for the first time this year, and Stallings isn’t a difference maker offensively to put him in there.

Also, I’m not sure if Garrett is capable of shutting down the Phillies lineup regardless of who is catching. Hopefully he can hang in there and we make it a bullpen game or something. It’s our only chance if we have one.

Shut up, Meg.