Orioles-Marlins series preview: A more evenly matched opponent comes to town

The rebuilding Miami Marlins (26-43) come into Camden Yards this evening to start a three game series against the O’s. Miami currently resides in last place in the National League East — just like Baltimore in the American League East.

The Marlins are a very different team than last year, having traded off players like Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon and Giancarlo Stanton this past offseason. CEO and part-owner Derek Jeter decided to streamline the payroll and move some big names for valuable young assets, with the average age on the Marlins this year being just over 28.

Miami lost 6-3 to the San Francisco Giants in 16 innings last night, so maybe the Orioles will get the tired out version of the Marlins in game one. But before Miami’s loss last night, they had won three consecutive games against those same Giants. In the past 10 games, the Marlins are 6-4.

Third baseman Brian Anderson and catcher J.T. Realmuto have been the most solid performers for Miami so far this year, ranking seventh and eighth in WAR in the National League, respectively. Anderson has a .304/.379/.435 slash line at the plate and Realmuto has a .303/.368/.519 line with seven home runs in 185 at-bats.

On the flip side, pitching has been a deficiency for the Marlins, seeing as they rank 26th in the majors with a 4.82 team ERA. They have allowed the fourth most walks in baseball with 263 through 68 games, and opponents are batting .254 against them.

Game One: Friday, 7:05 PM

RHP Kevin Gausman (3-5, 4.58 ERA) vs. RHP Jose Urena (1-8, 4.59 ERA)

Kevin Gausman will look to improve upon his previous start, when he took a no-decision against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing three runs in 6.2 innings with nine hits, zero walks and six strikeouts. In his last four games, Gausman has a 6.43 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in 21 innings pitched. This will be his first career start against the Miami Marlins.

Jose Urena will get the call for the Marlins. So far this year, Urena has a 4.59 ERA and 1.22 WHIP covering 80.1 innings. In his last two starts, Urena has allowed seven runs, 16 hits, one walk and eight strikeouts over 11 innings. He has had some success in the past facing American League opponents. Urena has pitched in 14 interleague games over the course of his career, including seven starts, and he’s managed a 3.65 ERA to go along with a 1.26 WHIP.

Game Two: Saturday, 4:05 PM

RHP Alex Cobb (2-8, 7.23 ERA) vs. LHP Wei-Yin Chen (1-3, 6.13 ERA)

Alex Cobb takes the hill for the Birds in this late afternoon matchup. His last time on the mound against Toronto was his worst start in an Orioles uniform. He only lasted 3.2 innings, allowing nine runs on 11 hits. Hopefully, Cobb’s impressive career numbers against Miami represent a good chance for him to rebound. In four career starts against the Marlins, Cobb is 3-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 0.83 WHIP.

This will be Wei-Yin Chen’s first appearance against his former team. Chen has struggled since joining the Marlins in 2016, missing quite a few games due to injury. He has only pitched 196 innings in a bit over two years with Miami, accruing a 5.01 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. In eight starts this season, he has an inflated 1.64 WHIP and a 31:22 SO/W ratio to go along with an ERA over six. Endurance has also been an issue for him so far this year; he’s only gone past the fourth inning three times and past the fifth inning once.

Game Three: Sunday, 1:05 PM

RHP Dylan Bundy (4-7, 3.66 ERA) vs. RHP Trevor Richards (1-3, 4.41 ERA)

The Orioles’ best starter, Dylan Bundy, will take the hill in the series finale against the Marlins on Father’s Day. He is the perfect guy for the job based on his numbers in day games this year, in which he has a 1.08 ERA and 0.88 WHIP with 47 strikeouts over 41.2 innings. He was also excellent in his last outing, despite getting a no decision, when he spun eight innings of shutout baseball.

The Marlins will counter with rookie Trevor Richards, who is only making his eighth career big league start. So far this year, he has a 1-3 record to go along with a 4.41 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 30 strikeouts and 17 walks in 34.2 innings pitched. He got the win in his last start against San Francisco, allowing one earned run over six innings on two hits, three walks and two strikeouts. We’ll have to see if the Orioles can take advantage of this matchup against a young, inexperienced pitcher.