The slumping Miami Marlins are reaching for a lighter.
The fire sale is about to begin.
Losers of a franchise-worst 12 straight games, the Marlins, who two weeks ago held playoff aspirations after going 20-6 in June, plummeted sharply in July. The skid matched the New York Mets‘ slide for the longest in the majors this season.
“We’re going to meet this head on,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said Sunday, as reported by The Athletic. “I mean, look, there’s no hiding from it. It’s what it is. Does anybody feel good? Certainly not. But to come in here each day and cry about it, make excuses, I don’t know what that’s going to do.
“I think we have a very prideful group that is certainly upset, frustrated, angry about how things are going, but we’re the only ones that can change that.”
Marlins may end up as MLB trade deadline sellers
The Marlins’ worst losing streak in the franchise’s 33 years started before the All-Star break, a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians at loanDepot park on July 10. They entered the matchup 10 games over .500 (52-42). The loss dropped the Markins to 52-54, 10.5 games behind the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves. They remain three games off the NL Wild Card pace.
They lost a prime opportunity to end the skid Sunday.
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The San Diego Padres capped a weekend sweep by rallying from a 3-1, seventh-inning deficit. Sparked by hot-hitting Manny Machado’s two-run homer, the Padres earned a 5-3 win.
Machado continues to vie for early NL Player of the Month honors, posting a .291 batting average with seven homers and 17 RBI in July.
Meanwhile, the Marlins, who open a three-game series against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, could be eying the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline. The Marlins’ Triple-A squad, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, was also mired in a 12-game skid.
Marlins pitchers Max Mayer and Eury Perez and catcher Liam Hicks have been rumored to be on the market.
Are the Marlins ready to light the fuse?