Miami Marlins at Houston Astros

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
MIA	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	3	8	1
HOU	1	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	—	5	8	0

Tyler Phillips and Tatsuya Imai took the mound at 7:10 PM CT with wildly different resumes attached to similarly shaky recent form. Phillips carried a respectable 3.52 ERA into the night but was fresh off a disaster start against Cleveland where he lasted just 1 inning. Imai, Houston's big offseason import from Japan, has been a $54-million adventure in command issues all year, and his last time out he needed 84 pitches to get through 3.2 innings against Washington.

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FINAL

Spread

ML

Total

Marlins(52-49)

LLLLL

3

+1.5-178+115o8.5-135

Astros(48-54)

WLLLL

5

-1.5+178-117u8.5+135

Best BetMarlins +104

Postgame

The Marlins lost outright 5-3, so the moneyline pick missed as the losing streak carried into a seventh game.

Pregame

We backed the Marlins to win outright, betting on a talented roster snapping out of its funk against a shaky Imai start. That price aged poorly once Houston's lineup got to work early and Imai got just enough length to hand off a multi-run lead. Miami's bats never found the equalizer despite the late push.

Neither staff came in whole. Miami placed starter Max Meyer on the 15-day injured list Monday with a neck strain, thinning a rotation that was already without Robby Snelling and Adam Mazur. Houston's own pitching depth chart reads like a training room log, with Mike Burrows, Hayden Wesneski and Brandon Walter all working back from long-term arm issues, while shortstop Carlos Correa is done for the year after ankle surgery.

Tyler Phillips

(3-5)·3.53 ERA

Jul 12 vs Guardians

L

1.0IP

2ER

1K

1BB

26P

07/21 Lineup

Tatsuya Imai

(6-4)·5.55 ERA

Jul 7 @ Nationals

ND

3.2IP

2ER

3K

3BB

84P

07/21 Lineup

None of that stopped Houston's lineup from doing what it needed to do. The Astros had already snapped a 4-game skid of their own by taking the series opener, and Tuesday they built on it early, scoring in each of the first 2 innings before the game really turned.

A 3-run 5th inning was the difference. Houston pushed its lead to 5-1 in that frame and Imai, shaky as he's been, didn't need to be great with that kind of cushion. Miami clawed back with 2 runs in the 7th to make it interesting, but the Marlins stranded traffic too often, finishing 8-for-8-hits with an error that didn't help their cause.

Miami Marlins

(52-49)

Jul 21L@ Astros5-8

Jul 19L@ Brewers1-3

Jul 18L@ Brewers6-8

Jul 17L@ Brewers1-2

Jul 12Lvs Guardians2-5

Houston Astros

(48-54)

Jul 21Wvs Marlins8-5

Jul 19Lvs Orioles2-5

Jul 18Lvs Orioles2-4

Jul 18Lvs Orioles2-3

Jul 12L@ Rangers5-6

The bigger story is where Miami's season stands right now. A team that spent June and early July playing like the best in baseball has been unrecognizable since, swept first by Cleveland and then by Milwaukee, and now dropping the first 2 games of this Houston set. Losing streaks happen, but this one is compounding with the Meyer injury and a bullpen already down Ronny Henriquez, Anthony Bender and John King.

Miami Marlins

(10)

• 10-Day-ILOwen Caissie (RF) — Caissie was diagnosed with a mild right calf strain Thursday, Craig Mish of FanDuel Sports Network Florida reports.07/09
• 15-Day-ILMax Meyer (SP) — The Marlins placed Meyer on the 15-day injured list Monday with a neck strain.07/20
• 15-Day-ILAnthony Bender (RP) — Bender (shin) was cleared to begin a throwing program Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 15-Day-ILWilliam Kempner (RP) — The Marlins placed Kempner on the 15-day injured list Sunday due to a right elbow sprain.07/12
• 15-Day-ILJohn King (RP) — The Marlins placed King on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left lateral ankle sprain.07/09
• 60-Day-ILRonny Henriquez (RP) — Henriquez (elbow) began playing catch from 60 feet out Friday, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports.07/18
• 60-Day-ILJosh Ekness (RP) — Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Monday that Ekness is expected to miss approximately six weeks due to a right calf strain, Kyle Sielaff of Marlins.tv reports.06/21
• 60-Day-ILAndrew Nardi (RP) — The Marlins transferred Nardi (ribcage) from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL on Monday.06/01
• 60-Day-ILRobby Snelling (SP) — Snelling underwent internal brace surgery Friday to repair a torn UCL in his left elbow.05/22
• 60-Day-ILAdam Mazur (SP) — The Marlins placed Mazur (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Wednesday.05/08

Houston Astros

(5)

• 10-Day-ILBrice Matthews (CF) — The Astros announced that Matthews was removed from Sunday's game against the Rangers after the first inning due to a left knee injury, Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports.07/17
• 15-Day-ILMike Burrows (SP) — General manager Dana Brown said Wednesday that Burrows (elbow) is expected to begin throwing off a mound within the next 7-to-10 days, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.07/15
• 60-Day-ILHayden Wesneski (SP) — Wesneski (elbow) struck out three and allowed one earned run on two hits and one walk across four innings Sunday in a rehab start with Double-A Corpus Christi. He also hit a batter and threw two wild pitches.07/07
• 60-Day-ILBrandon Walter (SP) — The Astros announced Friday that Walter (elbow) is in the midst of a throwing progression at the team's complex in West Palm Beach, Fla., Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports.06/04
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Correa (SS) — Correa is scheduled to undergo surgery Monday in Houston to repair the tendon in his left ankle, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.06/02

Houston, meanwhile, gets to feel decent about a series lead despite its own rotation questions. Imai's control problems are real and will bite them eventually, but for now the lineup is bailing him out and the Astros have a chance to finish off a sweep before this series wraps.