Philadelphia at Florida
Monday, May 9th, 7:10 PM
(matchup)
The only two teams in the Senior Circuit with a win percentage above .600 start up a three-game series Monday night as NL East rivals Philadelphia and Florida meet in Miami. Oddsmakers have opened the Phillies up as a favorite as starter Joe Blanton returns to the rotation. Philly has long dominated the Marlins here in Florida, winning 15 of 18 games.
This is Blanton’s first start since April 23rd. He missed two scheduled starts due to an elbow injury. Prior to heading to the disabled list, Blanton was not particularly effective as he had a 5.92 ERA in four starts and zero victories. However, he was getting better with a 2.57 ERA his last two outings. Blanton, traditionally, has been effective vs. Florida with a 6-2 career team start record and 3.12 ERA. He is 3-0 with a 1.52 ERA here in Miami.
Philadelphia starters have been very effective of late. They have combined to allow three runs or fewer in 10 straight games.
That being said, the team did lose Sunday night to the Atlanta Braves to lose that particular series. They finished a nine-game home stand 6-3, but were favorites of -140 or more in all three losses.
Florida will start Javier Vazquez, who is not off to a great start to the season. In six starts, he’s posted a 6.39 ERA and he has lost both home starts. In every start this season, he has allowed at least one first inning run. He allowed four earned runs – and six overall – in the team’s 8-7 road win over St. Louis last Wednesday. Vazquez did not receive a decision.
These teams split a pair of games in Philadelphia earlier in the season as one game was rained out. Vazquez was actually the one on the hill for the Marlins’ 4-3 victory as +170 underdogs, although he again did not receive a decision. The Phillies did rebound to beat Florida two days later by a 3-2 count.
Overall, Florida has lost seven straight home games to Philadelphia. The team snapped a season-high three-game losing streak on Sunday with an 8-0 win over the Washington Nationals, pounding out 13 hits, their highest total in nearly a month. During the three-game slide, the team was hitting only .174 with seven runs scored.
