Merrill Kelly (5-4, 5.71) takes the ball for Arizona opposite Tyler Phillips (0-1, 2.08) at 12:10 PM ET in Miami. It is a getaway-day matinee with a Marlins broom in the corner of the room.
Phillips is the more interesting name here. He has been Miami's best right-handed reliever all year and only recently slid into the rotation after the Eury Perez and Janson Junk shelf-stockings, so do not let that shiny ERA fool you — he has not gone past 5 innings in a start yet, and his last outing against the Mets was a 5-inning, 3-run, 72-pitch effort. The Marlins are going to need length from someone in the bullpen behind him.
Kelly, meanwhile, is the story. He got shelled by the Nationals on June 5 for 7 earned in 5 innings and the underlying numbers have been ugly for weeks: walks up, command of the fastball nowhere, lefties hitting him like a tee ball stand. Arizona has lost 4 of 5 and just got run 10-6 and 8-0 by this same Marlins team — they need Kelly to actually look like a veteran No. 2 today or this gets out of hand quick.
Miami's lineup, on the other hand, is in a groove. Kyle Stowers and Owen Caissie both went deep in Wednesday's 8-0 win, Joe Mack went 4-for-4 on Tuesday, and the Fish have ripped off 4 straight at home. The injury list is a mile long on both sides — Arizona is without Corbin Burnes, A.J. Puk and Lourdes Gurriel Jr.; Miami is missing Perez, Junk, Robby Snelling and Griffin Conine — but right now the healthier-looking unit is clearly in the home dugout.
- Day-To-DayA.J. Vukovich CF — no
- Day-To-DayDerek Law RP — no
- Day-To-DayKyle Amendt RP — Amendt was invited to major-league spring training by the Diamondbacks, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 10-Day-ILLourdes Gurriel Jr. LF — Gurriel (hamstring) began a rehab assignment in the rookie-level Arizona Complex League Monday, going 1-for-4 with an RBI single.
- 10-Day-ILJames McCann C — McCann (quad) has started taking machine batting practice and doing catching drills, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 60-Day-ILCarlos Santana 1B — Santana (thigh) began a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League on Friday, Alex Weiner of Arizona Sports reports.
- 60-Day-ILJordan Lawlar LF — Lawlar (wrist) moved his rehab to Triple-A Reno on Thursday and played consecutive games for the Aces. He went a combined 3-for-7 with two doubles, a triple and an RBI.
- 60-Day-ILCorbin Burnes SP — Manager Torey Lovullo said Wednesday that Burnes (elbow) has been shut down from throwing after suffering a teres major strain, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
- Day-To-DayThomas White SP — White was diagnosed with a left shoulder capsular sprain Friday and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Isaac Azout of FishOnFirst.com reports.
- Day-To-DayKemp Alderman RF — Triple-A Jacksonville placed Alderman on the 7-day injured list Tuesday due to a left wrist injury, Michael Germanese of Roundtable.io reports.
- 15-Day-ILJosh Ekness RP — Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Monday that Ekness is expected to miss approximately six weeks due to a right calf strain, Kyle Sielaff of Marlins.tv reports.
- 15-Day-ILJanson Junk SP — The Marlins placed Junk on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to right shin bone inflammation, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILEury Perez SP — The Marlins placed Perez on the 15-day injured list Friday, retroactive to Thursday, due to a right gracilis strain.
- 60-Day-ILGriffin Conine LF — Conine (hamstring) appears to be a week or two away from beginning a rehab assignment, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.
- 60-Day-ILAndrew Nardi RP — The Marlins transferred Nardi (ribcage) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.
- 60-Day-ILRobby Snelling SP — Snelling underwent internal brace surgery Friday to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow.
Pinnacle has the Marlins as a slim -112 home favorite with a total of 8.5, which feels about right given Kelly's June and Phillips' workload limit. The interesting layer is what happens in the 4th or 5th inning when Phillips hands it over and Kelly is presumably already grinding. Whichever bullpen blinks first decides this one.