The Miami Marlins will take on the St. Louis Cardinals in a four-game series beginning on Monday.
This will be the second series between the teams in a week, after the Cardinals took two of three in Miami. The Marlins went 2-7 overall on the recent homestand and will be looking for better results during this seven-game trip. After visiting the Cardinals, Miami will make a stop in Philadelphia for three with the Phillies.
Elieser Hernandez's latest stint in the big leagues will continue with a start on Monday. Hernandez is currently filling in for Caleb Smith and he was decent in an outing last week. The 24-year old allowed three runs on five hits in 5.2 innings of work against the Cardinals in that start. The right-hander is 0-1 with a 5.87 E.R.A. in limited major league work this year.
Jordan Yamamoto's big-league debut went about as well as possible and he will have another opportunity on Tuesday. Yamamoto shut the Cardinals out for seven innings and only allowed three hits along the way. The right-hander could have a chance to stay in the rotation, as Jose Urena will miss significant time with a back injury.
Trevor Richards will be coming off a rough outing, when he starts on Wednesday. Richards leads Miami with a 3.68 E.R.A and he continues to do a good job of keeping the ball in the park. Richards has allowed one home run in his last five starts combined, after allowing eight in his first five outings. The right-hander took on the Cardinals twice last year and the results were subpar.
Pablo Lopez's strong streak of starts continued against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. The right-hander will be back on the mound for Thursday's series finale and will be looking for a fifth consecutive quality start. Lopez faced St. Louis last year and dominated them over seven innings of work. The Cardinals' current roster is hitting .143 against Lopez in 28 at-bats.
Garrett Cooper is having a big month and he could end up being Miami's representative at the All-Star Game. Cooper is hitting .392 in June, which has lifted his season average to .306. Cooper has also hit three home runs this month and that has doubled his season total. The 28-year old has hit safely in nine straight games and had a pair of three-hit contests during that span.
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Cooper is not the only Marlin swinging a hot bat, as Harold Ramirez has also heated up. Ramirez is hitting .375 over the past week and he had two multi-hit games in the series with Pittsburgh. The outfielder is hitting .325 this season and he has brought home 16 runs in his 30 games played.
The four-game series will begin on Monday at 8:15 p.m.
