The Miami Marlins and the Texas Rangers meet in the finale of their three-game MLB interleague series from Globe Life Field on Sunday. The Marlins have dropped the first two games of this series, can they salvage something from the set? Or will the Rangers complete the sweep? Let’s dive in and find out.
Marlins Lose Thriller On Saturday
The Miami Marlins had a great chance to even up the series at one win apiece, but fell short on Saturday by a final score of 9-8. The loss dropped the Marlins to 58-54 on the year, 14 games back in the AL East, but also 0.5 games back in the NL Wild Card hunt. Jorge Soler leads the Marlins with 26 home runs along with 59 RBIs while Bryan De La Cruz is leading the Marlins has 58 RBIs this season. Luis Arraez also has 156 hits, 26 doubles and a .376 batting average to lead the Marlins in those categories this season. Sandy Alcantara will start for the Marlins here and is 4-9 with a 4.21 ERA and 118 strikeouts this season.
Miami Marlins Team Facts
- The Marlins have lost 12 of their last 13 road games.
- The Marlins have covered the run line in each of their last six day games against American League opponents following a road loss.
- The Marlins have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last four games.
- The Marlins have won the first inning in four of their last six games as underdogs against the Rangers.
- The Marlins have led after 3 innings in 10 of their last 15 games as underdogs against AL West opponents.
Miami Marlins Player Prop Facts
- Bryan De La Cruz has hit a home run in two of the Marlins’ last three day games against opponents that held a winning record.
- Jazz Chisholm has recorded at least one RBI in four of his last five appearances against AL opponents.
- Jon Berti has recorded at least one total base in each of his last eight road appearances after playing the previous day.
- Jon Berti has scored at least one run in each of his last five appearances in day games against AL teams that held a winning record.
- Sandy Alcantara has recorded six or more strikeouts in eight of his last nine appearances in day games.
- Jon Berti has recorded at least one hit in each of his last eight road appearances after playing the previous day.
- Luis Arraez ranks 1st amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.376) this season.
Rangers Eke Out Victory Saturday
The Texas Rangers continue to find themselves in a dogfight atop the AL West standings, but keep getting wins while the Astros have stumbled, picking up the win on Saturday to improve to 65-46 on the year, 2.5 games clear of the Astros at the top of the mountain. Adolis Garcia has a team-high 28 home runs and 88 RBIs while Marcus Semien has a team-high 128 hits along with 29 doubles this season. Nathaniel Lowe also has a .284 batting average, a .379 OBP and 30 doubles this season. Andrew Heaney will get the start for the Rangers here and is 8-6 with a 4.36 ERA and 114 strikeouts this season.
Texas Rangers Team Facts
- The home team has won each of the Rangers’ last eight games.
- The favourites have covered the run line in seven of the Rangers’ last eight games.
- The Rangers have trailed after 3 innings in four of their last six games as home favourites against NL East opponents.
- The Rangers have led after 7 innings in each of their last six home games.
- The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the last three day games between the Marlins and Rangers.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Texas Rangers ranks 1st in the league for hits this season (1052).
- The Texas Rangers ranks T1st in the league for doubles this season (241).
- The Miami Marlins ranks 2nd in the league for hits this season (1009).
- The Miami Marlins ranks 3rd in the league for batting average this season (.264).
Chris’ Pick
I’m looking at the under here. Sandy Alcantara is back in 2022 Cy Young form in his last couple of starts, but 2022 Cy Young Sandy also gets no run support from the Marlins and that issue is starting to rear its ugly head once again. Andrew Heaney’s coming off of one of his best starts of his career, and I think this has potential to be a bit of a pitcher’s duel. Give me the under.
