Miami Marlins’ slump continues as they lose to Tampa Bay Rays 0-3 at Tropicana Field - MLB Update
Starter Josh Johnson records his fourth loss of the season as the Miami Marlins are blanked 0-3 by the Tampa Bay Rays on June 17, 2012 in third game of the three match series at Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida.
A bitter reality prevails for the Marlins. Finishing scoreless, their offence had another forgettable day. Beaten out-and-out by the Rays’ starter Alex Cobb, only two hits were generated. None of their base-runners could go aboard.
It is not for the first time that the Marlins have fared so poor. Almost in every game, their top order wasted a number of at-bats and left little for the rest of the batters to work with.
Despite the fact shortstop Jose Reyes has been steady, he is way short of justifying with the role he is assigned. Similarly, third-baseman Hanley Ramirez’s frailties seem perennial as he had another hitless outing.
Only hitters that the Marlins have seen backing them up are Giancarlo Stanton and Omar Infante. The Marlins count on heavily on these two players, when it comes to drawing big hits.
On Sunday Stanton took a nosedive, along with rest of the hitters. Going hitless in four at-bats, he struggled to find his feet.
Short of reasons to trace the failure to, Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen admitted that things are not going their way despite the fact players understand their responsibility.
"I'm not saying they're not trying, I'm not saying they don't care, they do. We all do," Guillen added. "But make hitting simple. See the ball, hit the ball and have some fun playing baseball. Just be aggressive."
Josh Johnson was put under pressure right away by being thrashed a homer in the first. He pitched six innings and allowed eight hits, while striking-out four and giving up two runs.
Johnson acknowledged that his control was dithering.
"Lots of balls ... struggled to find the zone," Johnson said. "I was all over the place. I found a way to battle and get outs."
Ever since the month of June has started, it has brought miseries of the Marlins along.
In stark contrast to a splendid performance during May, the Marlins are looking ordinary at the moment. They will hope that they get rid of the slump as soon as possible and regain momentum.
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