The Miami Marlins are only two games ahead of last place after falling to the Philadelphia Phillies by a final score of 7-1 on Friday.
The Phillies currently have the worst record in Major League Baseball, while Miami has the third worst. With two games left in the weekend series, it is possible that the Marlins could find themselves in the basement soon. Miami has a 50-72 record overall on the year, but is a respectable 29-31 at home.
Making his first big league start, Kendry Flores did not fare well for the Marlins. Flores served up five runs on seven hits in his five innings on the mound. The right-hander is now 1-2 to go with a 4.97 E.R.A after spending time in the bullpen.
Erik Cordier and Kyle Barraclough both appeared out of the pen for Miami. The two relievers combined to allow a pair of runs in four innings of work. Cordier and Barraclough are being auditioned for possible roles in the 2016 pen.
Miami had only one run but it did compile eight hits. The lone score came courtesy of Derek Dietrich's ninth home run of the season. Dietrich entered the game in place of Cole Gillespie when the latter was forced to exit with a sore wrist.
Dee Gordon tripled for the eighth time this season as part of a two-hit day. Gordon is now hitting .338 this season.
Another rookie will get the ball on Saturday when the Marlins turn to Justin Nicolino for a start against Philadelphia.
