The Miami Marlins won three games in a row for the first time this season after they swept the New York Mets. The Marlins combined for a one-hitter in a 2-0 victory over the Mets on Saturday, and Sandy Alcantra hurled a two-hitter in a 3-0 complete game shutout on Sunday to complete the sweep
One-quarter through the season, the Marlins posted the worst record in all of baseball with a 10-31 clip. Just how bad was this year’s start? The all-time worst 1Q record is 7-34 by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. The Marlins were tied for third-worst start in MLB history with 7 other teams.
As bad as the Marlins have bad in recent memory, they never got off to this horrible of a start winning only 24.4 percent of their games.
That’s why three-straight wins against the slumping Mets became a noteworthy highlight in an otherwise atrocious season.
Beat the Mets
Even bad teams desperately need a slump buster. Enter the New York Mets. The Mets, led by rookie Pete Alonso, jumped out to a 5-1 start at the beginning of the season. The Mets struggled since then with a 7-15 record in their last 22 games.
The Marlins swept the Mets to win three games in a row for the first time this season. They also blanked the Mets in consecutive games. Pablo Lopez gave up a hit to the first batter of Saturday’s game and then shut down the rest of the team. Lopez and the Marlins relievers (Tayron Guerrero and Adam Conley) combined for a one-hit shutout.
On Sunday, Sandy Alcantra (2-4, 4.25 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) went the distance with a complete game shutout. Alcantra scattered two hits and outdueled Noah Syndergaard (3-4, 4.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP).
With the sweep, the Marlins won their 13th game of the season. The Fish are now riding high on a three-game winning streak.
Jeter’s Miami Beach Blues
Derek Jeter won five world championships during his inevitable Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees. Instead of pivoting to coaching, Jeter became an owner and headed to the front office. Jeter, backed by financial guru Bruce Sherman, bought the Miami Marlins. Sherman installed Jeter as the team’s CEO.
In his new job, Jeter came under fire for trading Giancarlo Stanton to his old team. The Marlins were bad last year, as expected, while they were rebuilding the team. The 2018 Marlins went 63-98 as the worst team in the National League. Only the inept Baltimore Orioles (47-115) and Kansas City Royals (58-104) lost more games in the big leagues.
You knew it was going to be a long season in Miami when the team announced a huge press conference to show off the Marlins’ new uniforms and branding. The Miami-influenced colors look dope and have cool names. But they cannot hit a curveball or strikeout batters. The team needed quality players and veteran leadership, not a new color scheme.
According to the South Point Casino and Sports Book in Las Vegas, the Miami Marlins are 5000/1 odds to win the World Series. They are the biggest longshot on the board.
