Will Bad Pitching Or Bad Hitting Prevail In Marlins Vs Cardinals?

Marlins vs. Cardinals, 4:15 ET

I've complained about this for years, but the way the MLB is structured, teams typically get a day off on Mondays or Thursdays. That means that Thursday usually has a pretty small or poor slate of games. Today still brings us a decent amount of games as we have six going - though one of those games is only happening because of a double-header. Getaway day can be an interesting day throughout the season, but this early, I'm not sure we need to be too concerned with anything too wild. Today, I'll focus on a game between the Marlins and the Cardinals. 

A couple of years ago the Marlins were a surprisingly successful team. Even last season, they were above .500 and snuck into the playoffs with a Wild Card spot. Rather than invest in the team and try to capitalize on the success of last year, they did… nothing. They are a terrible franchise and continue to do nothing that resembles being actually interested in fielding a competitive team. This year, they are 0-7 and have only been competitive in two of those games. They lost their opener in extra innings and lost one other game in extra innings. They haven't faced very good competition either. I suppose the Pirates could end up having a decent season, but the Angels are likely going to not be competitive once again. Not only has their offense been bad, but their pitching is struggling too. They have a 6.04 ERA as a team, and are at 1.72 for WHIP this year. Opponents are also hitting .275 off of them. The offense has scored only 24 runs through seven games and are at just a .197 batting average. Lefty pitcher, Ryan Weathers, is taking the ball. In his first turn, he allowed three earned runs on seven hits through four innings. That's not a terrible result, and he's been okay against Cardinals hitters. In 16 at-bats, he has allowed just four hits. 

The Cardinals don't have the same black cloud hanging over the franchise. They've had a ton of success, but their team looked really bad last season as they finished last in the division. They continue to invest in the team and look to find ways to bolster a pitching staff that was one of the more embarrassing staffs in the league last season. They are just 3-4 to start the year, and while it is still early, there are concerns that remain from last year. The pitching staff has a 4.50 ERA early in the year and a 1.38 WHIP. The good news for them is they have only issued about three walks per game which might still be a bit high, but not insurmountable. In the same category, they are allowing hitters to bat .262 against them this season, which is manageable, but the offense isn't hitting. They have just three more runs and two more hits than the Marlins on the year. Today they have offseason addition Lance Lynn taking the ball. Lynn has been a guy I've focused on for years. I'm not sure how much he has left in the tank. Last season was very bad for him as he had a 6.47 ERA against the White Sox and 4.36 when he switched to the Dodgers. In one start this season, he has gone four innings and allowed no earned runs. He allowed four hits and one walk in that game. Marlins hitters have had a decent amount of success against him with 26 hits in 106 at-bats. 

Even with the success against Lynn, the Marlins are not hitting so far. Eventually, the bats will break out. Tim Anderson and Luis Arraez are both too good of hitters to be at .231 and .185, respectively, for too long. This doesn't seem like a great spot for the Marlins as they are playing their first road game of the season. Maybe getting out of Miami will be the cure for them, but I like the Cardinals in this game. I would be surprised to see the teams to combine for more than eight runs as well. I lean toward the Cardinals -1.5 for the game but I'm going to play under 8.5. Both teams are struggling to hit and the weather shouldn't be great for this game. The under is the best play.

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