May 9-11: Marlins at Diamondbacks Series Preview

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Cole Sulser (31) delivers a pitch against Arizona Diamondbacks shortstop Nick Ahmed (13) in the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. — Photo by Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports

Let’s try this again!

The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster for the Miami Marlins. The team won seven games to end April, then dropped the first six games in May. This included a sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team will play the D-Backs again, this time in Arizona. The Marlins are coming off a heartbreaking loss at the hands of Jorge Alfaro and the Padres. They’ll look to turn it around with the 3-game series in Arizona.

I’ll cover the usual stuff in this series preview:

Schedule, Watch, Listen
Probable Pitchers
Recent Lineups
What To Watch For
Poll: How Will This Series Play Out?

Schedule, Watch, Listen

Monday, May 9 at 9:40 pm

Tuesday, May 10 at 9:40 pm

Wednesday, May 11 at 3:40 pm

TV broadcast for all 3 games: Bally Sports Sun for Monday and Wednesday’s games; Bally Sports Florida on Tuesday (Paul Severino and J.P. Arencibia)
Radio broadcast for all 3 games: 940 AM WINZ, WAQI 710 (Glenn Geffner and Rod Allen)

Probable Pitchers

Monday: RHP Elieser Hernandez vs. RHP Humberto Castellanos

Hernandez: 6.66 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 21.1 K%, 22.0 HardContact% in 24.1 IP
Castellanos: 4.12 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 14.5 K%, 25.3 HardContact% in 19.2 IP

Tuesday: LHP Jesús Luzardo vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner

Luzardo: 3.08 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 33.3 K%, 23.1 HardContact% in 26.1 IP
Bumgarner: 1.50 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 15.3 K%, 26.5 HardContact% in 24.0 IP

Wednesday: RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. RHP Merrill Kelly

Alcantara: 3.03 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 21.4 K%, 25.0 HardContact% in 35.2 IP
Kelly: 1.22 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 23.0 K%, 25.0 HardContact% in 37.0 IP

Projected Lineups

Marlins most recent lineup: Chisholm (2B), Aguilar (1B), Soler (LF), Wendle (3B), Cooper (DH), De La Cruz (RF), Sánchez (CF), Rojas (SS), Henry (C). — *Marlins’ recent lineups.*

Diamondbacks most recent lineup: Hummel (DH), Smith (RF), Peralta (LF), Walker (1B), Marte (2B), Perdomo (3B), Ahmed (SS), Thomas (CF), Herrera (C). — *Diamondbacks’ recent lineups.*

What to watch for on…

Monday: Can Elieser impress?

Elieser Hernandez vs. D-Backs last week: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 3 K.
As many have noted, prospect Max Meyer is chomping at the bit down in Triple-A and waiting for his big league call-up. In 31 ¹⁄₃ innings (6 starts), Meyer’s held a 1.72 ERA with 9 walks and 39 strikeouts. With the way he’s pitched, Hernandez might be running out of time. Monday will be an opportunity to prove he should remain in the Marlins’ rotation.

Tuesday: MadBum will try again.

Madison Bumgarner earned an early exit from his start against the Marlins last week. Home plate umpire Dan Bellino ejected MadBum at the end of the first inning after he argued balls and strikes, then got headed during the foreign substance check.
Jon Berti hit a leadoff home run against Bumgarner in last week’s game. He was placed on the injured list Saturday without a reason specified, so he is unlikely to face the D-Backs this week. The rest of the lineup will look to avenge their sweep and jump on Bumgarner early.

Wednesday: Get Sandy back on track.

May has not been kind to Sandy Alcantara. In two starts, he’s allowed 7 earned runs on 11 hits, 6 walks, and 11 strikeouts.
He hasn’t looked like the pitcher we’re used to seeing. Compared to 2021, he’s walking more batters and striking out fewer. Swinging strikes are down, especially on his fastball. Sandy didn’t make a start against the D-Backs when they swept the Fish last week. Let’s hope this series turns out differently.