Marlins Offense Stumbles to Shockingly Low Run Total in Series vs. Tigers
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The Miami Marlins, before heading to Detroit to take on the Tigers, held an 8-5 record after a strong start offensively. Now, they head to Atlanta to take on their division rival, the Braves, with an offense that looks completely out of sorts compared to how it started the season.
Miami's biggest strength in victories this season comes primarily from its contact hitting. Last season, they were one of the better teams in Major League Baseball with team batting average, but when they aren't hitting, it's very difficult to see light at the end of the tunnel.
But when reviewing the offense from this past weekend, this was one of the worst offensive performances that the Marlins have had in quite some time.
Marlins Held to 3 Runs in 3 Games
From Friday to Sunday, the Marlins scored three runs total against the Tigers in Detroit, as their pitching crew allowed 16 runs on the other side. In what could have been a statement series for the Marlins, the Tigers might have brought them back down to earth from how they began the campaign.
The biggest offensive contributors for Miami this season have been Liam Hicks, Owen Caissie, Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez. Connor Norby got the Marlins on the board for the first time in the series in game two, as Lopez drove in both runs for Miami in the series finale against Tarik Skubal and Connor Seabold.
It could be a case where the offense just hit its first rough patch of the season, or it could be a sign of things to come, but whatever it is, the Marlins have to find out quicker than someone can answer the question.
Going into Atlanta against the Braves would be the perfect time for this offense to rediscover what makes it so effective in the first place. Not only do the Braves sit in first place in the NL East, but it marks the first time this season that the Marlins take on a divisional opponent.
Those wins are the most important, and for players previously named as offensive contributors, it's time for them to step forward to retract what happened in Detroit. Eury Perez, Max Meyer, and Chris Paddack are slated to be the three starting pitchers for the series on the road.
Perez and Meyer have shown themselves as pitchers who can keep their team in games, so for Miami, it's time to turn the clock and get some more runs on the board if they want to compete in a packed NL East.
Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.