Marlins' Tyler Phillips, clinging to rotation spot, aims to tame M's

The Tyler Phillips experiment does not appear to be working.

Phillips, who began the season as a Marlins reliever, will start on Wednesday when Miami plays host to the Seattle Mariners.

In 16 relief appearances this year, Phillips has a 1.82 ERA with two saves. In seven starts, all since late May, he has a 5.24 ERA. Overall, he is 1-3 with a 3.52 ERA.

The Marlins have three solid starting pitchers -- All-Star Max Meyer, 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez, who threw seven perfect innings in his most recent outing. Beyond those three, Miami's rotation depth is dubious.

In other words, the Marlins need Phillips to continue in this role, at least for now, even though he has a 22.09 career ERA in three appearances (one start) against Seattle covering a total of 3 2/3 innings.

Phillips will be opposed on Wednesday by George Kirby (7-7, 3.81 ERA). The Mariners right-hander is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two career starts against the Marlins.

Kirby is riding a streak of four straight quality starts, posting a 3.12 ERA during that span. Over his past two starts, he has been even better (1.93 ERA).

One of the hallmarks of his game is elite control, as Kirby has averaged just 1.4 walks per nine innings over his five-year career. He also has a wide variety of pitches, from a fastball that averages 97 mph and hits corners consistently to other weapons such as a sweeper, knuckle-curve, sinker and changeup.

Kirby will be facing a hot Marlins team that took the series opener 6-5 in 10 innings on Tuesday night. Since June 1, the Marlins are 24-8, putting the team in wild-card position, and they have won four in a row.

One of Miami's heroes on Tuesday was Heriberto "Bert" Hernandez, who hammered his third pinch-hit homer of the season.

"Pinch-hitting is hard," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "But Bert has a short swing, and he can hit velocity. Plus, he's always ready.

"The way he has been performing, he is deserving of a lot of opportunities. He has power, and he's aggressive."

Two other players praised by McCullough following the latest victory were rookie catcher Joe Mack and designated hitter Liam Hicks.

"It's no coincidence that our defense has picked up since Joe's arrival," the manager said. "He has that defensive pedigree of throwing out runners and making great blocks. We're pretty strong up the middle (with Mack, second baseman Xavier Edwards, All-Star shortstop Otto Lopez and center fielder Jakob Marsee)."

Marsee delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning on Tuesday.

As for Hicks, McCullough said he flashed power early this season and is now hitting to all fields.

"His at-bat quality is high," McCullough said. "He controls the strike zone and sprays the ball around."

The Mariners, who lead the American League West, are 20-25 on the road, and they have five games remaining on this trip, including three at Tampa Bay.

"One of the things we've talked about is finishing the first half strong," Seattle manager Dan Wilson said. "We want to continue to do what we've done at home (27-20). We want to play good baseball. The key for us has been getting good pitching, not giving up free passes and swinging the bat and coming up with some timely hits."

--Field Level Media