Miami

Series Preview: Cardinals at Marlins

The Marlins will host the Cardinals for a three-game series beginning on Monday

The Miami Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals will begin a three-game series at Marlins Park on Monday.

The Marlins were swept by the Atlanta Braves this past weekend, which put an end to the team's streak of series wins. Miami has lost four games in a row overall and has a record of 23-40 on the season.

The Marlins will play the Cardinals in seven out of their next ten games, with the other four coming in St. Louis next week. The Cardinals are 31-32 on the year and sit in third place in the National League Central.

Sandy Alcantara will take on his old team, when he starts for Miami on Monday. The Marlins acquired Alcantara from the Cardinals prior to the 2018 season and this will be his first time facing St. Louis. The right-hander has put together two consecutive quality starts and he will bring a 3.80 E.R.A into the outing. Alcantara has done a good job of improving his efficiency, with six or more innings in three of his last four starts.

Miami does not currently have a starter listed for Tuesday's game, due to Caleb Smith landing on the injured list last week. The Marlins may dip into the minor leagues for an arm or could just go with a bullpen type game. Smith's injury is not expected to be long term, which means Miami may only need to find a solution for one game.

Jose Urena will pitch for Miami on Wednesday and Tuesday's pitching decision may have an effect on him. If Miami goes with a bullpen game for Tuesday, it will need plenty of innings from Urena on Wednesday. Urena has done a good job in that department for most of the season, but he did struggle in his last outing. Urena lasted only three innings in a loss to the Braves on Friday. The right-hander has a 4-7 record and a 4.70 E.R.A in 2019.

Austin Dean had a big game on Sunday and he has heated up overall recently. Dean is hitting .545 over the past week, with a double and a home run. The outfielder also knocked in four runs during the week, which gave him ten runs batted in this season. Dean had struggled in limited opportunities last season and this season, but has posted big numbers in his time at AAA.

The series against the Cardinals will begin on Monday at 7:10 p.m.

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