Miami Marlins lose 3-6 to Houston Astros in their Grapefruit League clash - MLB Update
Carlos Zambrano struggles on the mound as he allows five walks in a game as the Miami Marlins lost 3-6 to Houston Astros on March 28, 2012 in their Grapefruit League encounter at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee, Florida.
Chunk of the runs the Marlins gave up came off Zambrano’s pitches who allowed three runs on five hits in four innings. Worse part of his game was the way he kept walking batters and being unable to draw strike-outs.
As soon as Jones replaced Zambrano on the mound, Marlins fancied a recovery from the leakage of runs at the start, however that did not happen. In just one inning by Jones, three more runs were given up and thus the Marlins hopes to somehow be able to chase
the lead down in the end weakened.
Wade LeBlanc breezed through one inning scoreless for Marlins, but the fact that the Astros had scored enough that his relatively better performance did not help Miami much.
In-fielder Chris Coghlan managed just one hit in four at-bats. With this performance his chances for making to Marlins' opening day roster have further deteriorated.
Earlier Coghlan stated that he is not concerned about who makes to the roster, saying before the season cuts are part and parcel of the game and thus resolved that he will focus on his play more than anything else.
As regard to Astros, their starter Lucas Harrell stood out in the game. As he ensured that Marlins do not score much at the start, he led his side to victory in the end.
Although he drew no strike-outs, the way he pitched five innings and giving up no earned run actually set the stage for Houston.
“I feel like there’s still a few guys ahead of me,” Harrell said. “I didn’t really pitch well at the beginning of spring, but hopefully I can finish strong and put something in their heads. Hopefully I can make a push to make this team.”
Marlins faced the same problem and their hitters let them down again. From day one in Spring Training, they have been struggling on this front. With the 2012 regular season approaching fast, Marlins will be looking to find their way out at the earliest to
experience a better performance during the season.
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