The Miami Marlins Haven't Been Getting Much Relief Lately

One place they could improve upon is their bullpen, which has faltered recently after a solid first half. Amidst this mid-season skid, the relievers have fallen off form. For example, they were swept over the weekend by the Milwaukee Brewers; the bullpen was responsible for 10 of the 13 runs Miami surrendered. It's starting to concern the fan base, and now, even the relief corps themselves are starting to feel the heat.

“If I didn’t want to break my hand, I would have hit quite a few things,” Miami closer Pete Fairbanks said on Sunday, after surrendering a walk-off loss to the Brew Crew. “This is the most trying three-month stretch I’ve ever had in the game of baseball.”

McCullough Staying the Course

Despite a rough patch for the pitchers, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough says his team and its closer are resilient. He feels that characteristic will be the cure for the bullpen and for the Marlins as a whole. He expressed that when discussing the very same walk-off performance by Fairbanks, but painted it in a much better light.

“No one’s more frustrated than Pete right now that it just seems like any mistake he makes, guys aren’t missing,” Cullough stated earlier this week, while expressing strong support for his hurler. "That’s what he signed up for, and [it’s] not always easy, but you know what? Pete is built for this, and he’ll come out of it fine.”

Miami will get another shot at ending its losing skid on Wednesday night in the series finale against the Astros, sending ace Sandy Alcantara to the bump.