{"id":60572,"date":"2023-08-14T10:09:16","date_gmt":"2023-08-14T14:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=60572"},"modified":"2023-08-14T10:19:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-14T14:19:19","slug":"marlins-vs-astros-clash-of-the-divisional-hopefuls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/14\/marlins-vs-astros-clash-of-the-divisional-hopefuls\/","title":{"rendered":"Marlins vs Astros: Clash of the Divisional Hopefuls"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In the upcoming MLB game, the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/06\/22\/miami-marlins-biggest-surprise\/\" target=\"_self\">Miami Marlins<\/a> will face off against the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2023\/08\/01\/verlander-trade-astros-mets\/\" target=\"_self\">Houston Astros<\/a> in a highly anticipated showdown. The Marlins, with a record of 62-57, are currently placed 6th in the National League and 3rd in the East division. On the other hand, the Astros, boasting a strong record of 68-51, rank 4th in the American League and 2nd in the West division. The game promises to be an exciting and closely contested battle between two powerhouse teams.<\/p>\n<p>[pickup_prop id=&#8221;34379&#8243;]<\/p>\n<h2>Marlins vs Astros: Clash of the Divisional Hopefuls<\/h2>\n<p>The starting pitcher for the Miami Marlins will be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garrebr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braxton Garrett<\/a>, who holds a solid record of 6-3 with an ERA of 4.08. Garrett&#8217;s consistent performance on the mound has been instrumental in the Marlins&#8217; success this season. On the opposing side, the Houston Astros will send <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valdefr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Framber Valdez<\/a> to the mound. Valdez boasts an impressive record of 9-7 with an ERA of 3.30, making him a formidable force on the pitching front.<\/p>\n<p>Both teams have shown great offensive prowess throughout the season, making this game a potential slugfest. The Marlins&#8217; team batting average leader, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/arraelu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Arraez<\/a>, has been a standout player with an impressive batting average of .367. The Marlins will also rely on their power hitters, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/solerjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jorge Soler<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/burgeja01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jake Burger<\/a>, who have hit 28 and 26 home runs respectively, to deliver the big hits.<\/p>\n<p>[metabet_core_game_tile query=&#8221;531686&#8243; size=&#8221;350&#215;300&#8243; site_id=&#8221;lastwordonsports&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p>The game is scheduled to take place on Monday, August 14th at 6:40 PM ET. Baseball fans can catch the action live on BSFL.<\/p>\n<h3>Keep an Eye Out for:<\/h3>\n<p>&#8211; Braxton Garrett&#8217;s pitching prowess against the strong Astros lineup. Will he be able to stifle their powerful hitters?<br \/>\n&#8211; Can Luis Arraez continue his impressive batting average and make a significant impact for the Marlins?<br \/>\n&#8211; How will the Astros adjust their game plan against Garrett and the Marlins&#8217; pitching staff?<br \/>\n&#8211; Watch out for the battle between the Marlins&#8217; and Astros&#8217; bullpen. Both teams have experienced relievers who could play a crucial role in late-game situations.<br \/>\n&#8211; Keep an eye on the defensive plays. Both teams have outfielders known for their extraordinary catches. Expect some highlight-reel plays in the field.<\/p>\n<h3>Injuries<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Miami Marlins:<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8211; RP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/n\/nanceto01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tommy Nance<\/a> (Shoulder, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; RP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=barnema01,barnes004mat,barnes003mat&amp;search=Matt+Barnes&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Barnes<\/a> (Hip, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; RP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chargjt01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">JT Chargois<\/a> (Rib, D15)<br \/>\n&#8211; SP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=rogertr01,rogers002tre&amp;search=Trevor+Rogers&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Trevor Rogers<\/a> (Forearm, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; CF <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davisjo05.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Davis<\/a> (Knee, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; RP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bendean01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Anthony Bender<\/a> (Elbow, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; SP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=meyerma01,meyer-001max&amp;search=Max+Meyer&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Max Meyer<\/a> (Elbow, D60)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Houston Astros:<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8211; SP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mcculla02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Lance McCullers Jr.<\/a> (Elbow, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; 1B <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/abreujo02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jos\u00e9 Abreu<\/a> (Back, Day-to-Day)<br \/>\n&#8211; SP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=garcilu05,garcilu04,garcilu03,garcilu02,garcilu01,garcia032lui,garcia030lui,garcia029lui,garcia028lui,garcia023lui,garcia022lui&amp;search=Luis+Garcia&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luis Garcia<\/a> (Elbow, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; LF <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/brantmi02.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Michael Brantley<\/a> (Shoulder, D60)<br \/>\n&#8211; RP <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/matonph01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2023-08-14_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Phil Maton<\/a> (Elbow, D15)<\/p>\n<p>Main photo credits:<\/p>\n<p>Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the upcoming MLB game, the Miami Marlins will face off against the Houston Astros in a highly anticipated showdown. The Marlins, with a record of 62-57, are currently placed 6th in the National League and 3rd in the East division. On the other hand, the Astros, boasting a strong record of 68-51, rank 4th [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4389,"featured_media":60573,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14,20],"tags":[4188,2359,1329,780,552,3912,3384,3445,1120,1376],"class_list":["post-60572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-astros","category-marlins","tag-braxton-garrett","tag-framber-valdez","tag-jake-burger","tag-jorge-soler","tag-jose-abreu","tag-lance-mccullers-jr","tag-luis-arraez","tag-luis-garcia","tag-michael-brantley","tag-trevor-rogers"],"modified_by":"Troy Brock","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60572","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60572"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60572\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60573"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60572"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60572"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60572"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}