The Rays beats the Marlins to take series Win

The Miami Marlins (1-6) lost their second straight game on Sunday as they fell to the Tampa Bay Rays (3-3) 8-5 in the rubber match of their three game series. The Marlins have dropped six of their first seven home games and have lost their first two series of the regular season.

Miami’s offensive woes have largely fueled their early season debacle as four of their eight regulars in the starting lineup are batting a measly .200 or below at the plate so far this season. Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton went 0-4 in the game and is now batting just .158 for the season so far.

To compound the situation, the Marlins lost two, possibly three, players to injury in their series finale against the Rays. Marlins pitcher Henderson Alvarez  experienced stiffness in his right elbow in the loss to Tampa and is scheduled to have an MRI today to see if they can find out what is causing his discomfort. Reserve third basemen Don Kelly and backup catcher Jeff Mathis also left the game after each suffered a broken finger on their right hands.

“No doubt disappointing,” said Marlins manager Mike Redmond. “We haven’t played well… really all week. And today with a couple of big blows injury wise—yeah, I mean, I’m really disappointed.”

Despite their gloomy start to the season, Marlins starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is trying to look on the bright side of this seemingly dismal situation.

“It could’ve been worse; it could be 0-6. You know, you gotta go with the way things went. I’ve been 0-6 before and ended being 11 games up in the division. So, I mean, the first week isn’t everything, but…you know, this team’s gotta find something to click, something to get going.”

Miami will try to get back on track today when they play the first game of their three game set against the Braves in Atlanta.

Meanwhile, the Rays will look to keep their two game winning streak alive when they move on to face the Blue Jays today in Toronto. After a series loss to the Orioles and a relatively slow start to the season, the Rays finally hit their stride offensively against Miami, scoring 20 total runs throughout the series.

Tampa Bay second baseman Tim Beckham says their success comes from the improvement that comes about as a result of repetition.

“Seeing pitches… the more comfortable I get, the better I feel at the plate. And the more games we get in, the more comfortable we’ll all feel.”

First pitch in Toronto is set for 7:07.

Listen to the audio mentioned above:

Redmond talks about the loss

Saltalamacchia trying to stay positive

Beckham on the Rays’ improvement