Phillies at Marlins
Former Philadelphia Phillies prospect Jarred Cosart is starting to come into his own as a member of the Miami Marlins. Cosart faces the Phillies for the second time this season when the teams wrap up their weekend series with a Sunday matinee in Miami.
Cosart was traded from Philadelphia to Houston in 2011 and later made his way to Miami, where he pitched well for the Marlins in 10 starts last season. This year, Cosart has been strong in three of his four outings, including a 6-1 victory over the Phillies last month in which he yielded one run over six innings. Severino Gonzalez gets the nod for Philadelphia following a brutal major league debut last week. The Phillies dropped their fifth straight game Saturday as the Marlins posted a 7-0 win - their ninth victory in 10 games - to get back to the .500 mark at 12-12.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, FSN Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Phillies RH Severino Gonzalez (0-1, 26.63 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jarred Cosart (1-1, 2.49)
Gonzalez's arrival in the big leagues did not go well Tuesday against St. Louis, which reached the 22-year-old Panama native for seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. Gonzalez allowed 10 hits and two walks and did not strike out a batter, giving up multiple runs in each of the three innings during which he appeared. "He didn't really establish both sides of the plate with his fastball. It seemed like most of the balls were out over the plate and they had good swings at them," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg told reporters. "It was an experience for him."
Cosart followed up his terrific outing against Philadelphia by pitching eight scoreless innings, yielding only two hits in a no-decision against the New York Mets last Monday. He has given up a total of 16 hits in 25 1/3 innings and has held righties to a .159 average. No current Phillies player has more than three career at-bats against Cosart, who has a 0.64 ERA in two starts at home this season.
WALK-OFFS
1. Marlins 2B Dee Gordon is hitting .440 - tops in the majors - and has recorded multiple hits in six straight games.
2. Phillies 2B Chase Utley went 0-for-4 on Saturday and is hitting .115 on the season.
3. Philadelphia has been outscored 36-13 during its five-game skid.