With losing streak at nine games, Marlins are nearing yet another woeful franchise mark
The Miami Marlins have already tied or surpassed their share of futile offensive records this season.
Take the 37-inning scoreless streak they had this July that tied the franchise record set in 2013.
Or the 16-game run from July 30 to Aug. 15 in which Miami scored three runs or fewer that not only shattered the previous franchise record of nine but was three games shy of the longest stretch in MLB history.
Another one is creeping up on them.
The Marlins enter Thursday’s series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies on a nine-game losing streak. It’s just the seventh time they’ve lost that many games in a row in franchise history and two games shy of tying the franchise record, which has been done three previous times, once in 2011 and twice in the 1998 season (a year that also included a third, separate stretch of nine consecutive losses).
“Obviously,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “we’d like to get on the other side of this. Having to basically talk about it every night is not a good thing. They have to deal with it every day.”
The biggest reason for this extended losing streak can be seen at the plate. Miami has scored no more than three runs in any of these nine games and is being outscored 44-14 in this stretch. The Marlins have a .180 batting average in that span, which is the worst in the National League in that stretch and second worst in MLB ahead of (interestingly enough) the New York Yankees (.179). Ten of the Marlins’ 68 hits came in one game — Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Phillies. Moreover, 43 of their 68 hits in that span (63 percent) are singles.
“Obviously offensively we’ve been struggling as a team,” catcher Jacob Stallings said. “We have a lot of young guys in the lineup who are trying to find their way.”
Here’s a look at the other Marlins’ losing streaks of at least this length in franchise history.
▪ May 21-May 30, 2013, a nine-game stretch against the Phillies (two games at home), Chicago White Sox (three games on the road) and Tampa Bay Rays (four games, two at home and two on the road) in which they were outscored 46-25, walked off three times and shut out once. The Marlins finished 62-100 that season.
▪ June 11-June 20, 2011, a franchise-record-tying 11-game stretch against the Arizona Diamondbacks (three games at home), Phillies (four games on the road), Rays (three games on the road) and Los Angeles Angels (one game at home) in which they were outscored 67-28.
One win on June 10 separated that 11-game streak from another eight-game losing streak that ran from June 1-9, so the Marlins went 1-19 over their first 20 games in June that season to see their record fall from 31-22 to 32-41. They ultimately finished with a 72-90 record.
▪ June 14-June 25, 1999, a 10-game stretch (all on the road) against the Diamondbacks (three games), Colorado Rockies (three games), New York Mets (three games) and Montreal Expos (one game) in which they were outscored 68-38. The Marlins finished that season with a 64-98 record.
▪ April 1-April 12 AND May 26-June 7 AND Aug. 27-Sept. 5, 1998: The 1998 season started on the right note with an 11-6 win over the Chicago Cubs.
After that, the Marlins quickly put themselves in a hole by setting the franchise record for 11 consecutive losses. The Cubs won the final two games of that season-opening series by scores of 10-3 and 8-7 and the Malrins would then get swept in four games by the Milwaukee Brewers, drop both games in a two-game road series with the Phillies and lose the first three of a four-game road set with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Just six weeks later, the Marlins started another losing streak that would match that 11-game franchise record. The second stretch included getting swept by the Mets in a two-game home series before going 0-9 on a three city road trip against the Brewers, Cubs and New York Yankees.
And, for good measure, this Marlins team also had a third, separate nine-game losing streak at the tail end of the season that included getting swept by the Reds in a four-game series on the road, getting swept in a three-game home series by the St. Louis Cardinals and dropping the first two games against the Expos before snapping the streak with a 6-2 win in the finale against Montreal on Sept. 6.
The Marlins went 54-108 that season, their worst record in franchise history.
One-run games subhead
The Marlins are also closing in on the franchise record for one-run losses and have an outside chance to hit the club record for overall one-run games.
Miami’s 4-3 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday was its 32nd one-run loss of the season, which is tied with the 2011 season for the second-most one-run losses in franchise history. The Marlins had 37 one-run losses in 1993.
Overall, the Marlins have played in 53 games this season decided by one run, which is tied for the sixth-most in franchise history with the 2003 season, and still have 27 games left to play. The franchise record is 64 one-run games, done in 2014.
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