Florida @ Texas preview
Choctaw Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jun 17, 2010 ) Texas 6, Florida 4
THE STORY: The Florida Marlins are the proud owners of a two-game winning streak - their only such streak of June. Turning the page on one of the worst months in major league history, the Marlins and their new manager are hoping to carry some of that momentum into July and perhaps move a few games closer to .500 by the time the All-Star break rolls around. The Texas Rangers won their series against the rival Houston Astros but are going to need more to hold off the surging Los Angeles Angels in the American League West. The Rangers will be looking to take advantage of Florida when they open a three-game series on Friday in Arlington, Texas.
TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, FSFL, KTXA
PITCHING MATCHUP: Rangers RH Alexi Ogando (7-3, 2.87 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Anibal Sanchez (6-1, 2.82 ERA).
The league appears to be catching up to Ogando. The 27-year-old righthander was a surprise addition to the Texas rotation at the beginning of the season and began 7-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his first 12 starts. The bottom has fallen out over the last three, however, as Ogando has been lit up with an 0-3 record and a 9.31 ERA. He lasted just three innings last Sunday against the New York Mets, surrendering six runs - three earned - and eight hits.
Sanchez has had no such problems in his last three outings, surrendering a total of four runs in 20 innings, but he has not factored in the decision in any of those outings due to Florida’s stagnant offense. The 27-year-old Sanchez has not lost since April 10 and owns a 3-1 mark with a 3.65 ERA in eight career interleague games - seven starts.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (43-39): After beating up on the Astros in the first two games of their series, Texas rolled over in the final meeting on Thursday night, managing just four hits and committing a pair of errors in a 7-0 setback. The Rangers have not been able to count on many members of the pitching staff lately, but Matt Harrison had been one of the bright spots until surrendering five runs. Texas has been scuffling along, going 9-13 over its last 22 games. The poor stretch has allowed the rest of the AL West to stay in the race, with the Angels drawing within a game at the end of play on Thursday.
ABOUT THE MARLINS (36-45): The month of June included a 5-23 record, the resignation of manager Edwin Rodriguez, 14 straight losses in one-run games, horrible hitting slumps from most of the lineup, more bad news on the potential return of ace Josh Johnson from the disabled list and Florida falling from prime wild card position to last place in the National League East. The Marlins had not won a series since taking two of three from the San Francisco Giants on May 24-26 before they visited the Oakland Athletics this week and squeezed out two straight wins on the last two days of the month. After a shutout from Ricky Nolasco on Wednesday, Chris Volstad turned in a strong start on Thursday afternoon and Hanley Ramirez had two hits to push his average over .220 for the first time since May 21.
FINAL PITCH: Marlins manager Jack McKeon said Thursday that he’d like his starting pitchers to go out with a goal of going nine innings. Volstad went seven on Thursday, yielding only an unearned run before the bullpen made it interesting over the last two frames. The old-school approach is nothing new for the 80-year-old McKeon, who famously started Josh Beckett on three days’ rest in the 2003 World Series and rode the then-23-year-old to a complete-game shutout in the clinching game.