Miami

Series Preview: Cardinals at Marlins

The Marlins will be trying to halt a six-game skid when they host the Cardinals on Monday

The Miami Marlins will bring a six-game losing streak into a series with the St. Louis Cardinals starting on Monday.

The Marlins were swept in Philadelphia over the weekend in a four-game series. After going 0-6 on the road trip against playoff contending teams, Miami once again can try and be a spoiler in this series. The Cardinals are 58-54 and are within striking distance of both the division and the Wild Card spots.

Wei-Yin Chen was originally scheduled to pitch on Sunday, but had his start pushed back a day by manager Don Mattingly. Chen has had a difficult season on the road, while he had produced strong results at Marlins Park. Chen's home production will be tested against a Cardinals lineup that can put up runs at times.

Pablo Lopez will start Tuesday night's game and he is coming off one of his his finest performances of the season. Lopez ended up a no-decision against Philadelphia, but he gave Miami six very strong innings. The rookie is 2-2 with a 4.67 E.R.A this season, and has put together quality starts in two of his last three outings.

Trevor Richards will get the ball in Wednesday's series finale and he also pitched well his last time out. Richards ended up being tagged with a tough loss in Philadelphia, after allowing one run in five innings. The rookie struck out seven and fell to 3-6 on the year. Richards has strung together four straight quality starts and has posted big strikeout numbers consistently.

Marcell Ozuna will be making his return to Miami in the series. Ozuna was traded in the off-season by Miami and he has never faced the Marlins in his career. The outfielder has had a down year in St. Louis and struggled mightily in July. The former All-Star is hitting .265 on the year and has only hit 13 home runs thus far.

Monday's first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.

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