MLB Lines – Marlins vs Phillies
Both of these National League East division clubs are in limbo, but for entirely different reasons.
Date/Time: Wednesday, June 25 2014, 7:05 pm EST
Venue: Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia PA
Miami +1.5, Philly -1.5
MoneyLine: Miami EVEN, Philly -110
Over/Under: 7.5
Pitching Match-up: Henderson Alvarez (4-3, 2.39 ERA) vs. A.J. Burnett (5-6, 3.89 ERA)
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The Marlins (38-39) are a promising young club, led by the most powerful hitter in the bigs (OF Giancarlo Stanton) and promising young arms like Jose Fernandez, Henderson Alvarez and Nate Eovaldi.
The Phils (35-41) are an over-the-hill outfit with a general manager that’s refused to come to grips with the fact they needed to rebuild not just right now, but a couple of seasons ago.
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Two vastly different trajectories, but these teams are producing similar results because of a debilitating injury to one of Miami’s young cornerstones. Ace pitcher Fernandez went down with injury that needed Tommy John surgery, so he’s out for the year.
What the Fish currently have in high-end talent, they lack in depth, so Fernandez’s injury was devastating to the club’s 2014 outlook.
Yet, one of Miami’s encouraging young arms takes the hill tonight in the City of Brotherly Love. Alvarez was acquired last season in a deal with the Blue Jays and though the Marlins entirely changed the complexion of their team, Alvarez seems worth the price of admission.
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The 24-year old Venezuelan threw a no-hitter late last season and he’s followed that up with a 2.39 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Marlins’ rotation takes a tremendous hit without Fernandez, but Alvarez and Eovaldi (leads the team in WHIP) are still the real deal.
The Phillies are getting some feel-good seasons from several veterans, but it’s not enough to put them in the contending mix. Sluggers like 1B Ryan Howard and OF Marlon Byrd seemed either broken down or on the verge of it, instead they’ve produced nicely in 2014.
Philadelphia also has an injury to a cornerstone starting pitcher in lefty Cliff Lee; another one of the club’s greybeards takes the mound Wednesday night in the form of 37-year old A.J. Burnett.
The former flamethrower has had a solid but unspectacular career, and he’s continued on that path since coming over from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason. Burnett will hope to cool the bats of Stanton and Casey McGehee, a player that was a cast-off in the Japanese league last season.
The hulking Stanton is poised to hit some moonshots in the hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, and I like Alvarez to command the Phils’ batting order as well. Stanton and McGehee have formed a dynamic duo in the heart of the Marlins’ order and though it isn’t currently reflected in the standings (Miami is 3.5 games back of Washington in the East) Miami has the foundations of a good team set in place.
Though coming off a 7-4 win on Tuesday night, the Phillies will likely flounder until it is time to become sellers at the trade deadline. That may finally be the time when the Philadelphia brain trust realizes it’s time to blow it up and start from scratch.
But for the time being, expect the 24-year old to best the 37-year old on the pitcher’s mound on Wednesday night.
Miami 6, Philadelphia 2
Take the OVER
