The Miami Marlins will begin a two-game series with the New York Yankees beginning on Monday.
The series will take place in the Bronx and will be the first of two series between the teams in 2018. Later this season, the Yankees will be in Miami for a pair of games as well. While Miami is off to a 3-11 start, the Yankees have a 7-7 mark on the year.
Giancarlo Stanton will be taking on the Marlins in the regular season for the first time ever. Stanton is off to a sluggish start with the Yankees and has been booed in home park multiple times this season. Stanton has three home runs, but two of those came on Opening Day. The slugger has already struck out 25 times in 59 at bats in 2018.
The Yankees have a potent lineup around Stanton and they have shown the ability to score runs on a daily basis. With the likes of Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius in the lineup, New York can win games even with a slumping Stanton.
Caleb Smith will be on the mound for Miami in the series opener and he has a Yankee connection himself. Smith came to the Marlins in November along with Garrett Cooper in a trade with New York. Smith has a 4.73 E.R.A thus far in 2018, with 19 strikeouts in 13.1 innings pitched. The lefty has been relatively consistent thus far, but has not been efficient as of yet.
Jarlin Garcia will start the second game of the series and will bring a sparkling 1.13 E.R.A into the contest. Garcia has allowed only two runs in 16 innings pitched this season. The 25-year old started the year in Miami's bullpen, but joined the rotation for his last appearance. Against the New York Mets, Garcia gave the Marlins six hitless innings before exiting. Manager Don Mattingly lifted Garcia despite the no-hitter and the Marlins went on to lose the game.
Justin Bour has hit four home runs in his last five games played and could see time as the designated hitter in this series. Bour had no homers prior to the recent run and has compiled a .226 batting average so far. With Yankee Stadium's short right field wall, Bour could add another home run or two to his totals in the series.
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Starlin Castro came to Miami in the Stanton trade and will be making his return to Yankee Stadium for the series. Castro had some success with the Yankees and was relatively popular with the fans. The second baseman has been decent with Miami in 2018, but has run into some trouble with double plays. Castro has already grounded into seven double plays in 2018.
Marlins CEO Derek Jeter will not be attending the series in the Bronx. The former Yankee captain cited potential awkwardness as the reason for skipping the trip.
The series will get underway on Monday at 6:35 p.m.
