UPDATE WITH LINEUP
ST. LOUIS – The speculation will end later today when we learn if third baseman Casey McGehee will be an All-Star, Giancarlo Stanton will start in the outfield or any other Marlins (Henderson Alvarez?) sneaks onto the team.
The way it stands, McGehee absolutely deserves to be on the team and has a good chance, though, certainly not a guarantee. Stanton absolutely deserves to be among the top three outfielders in the fan voting but likely will not, which puts him squarely at the top of NL manager Mike Matheny’s choices as the DH. Alvarez has been outstanding for the last six weeks but so have many other pitchers in the second coming of the dead ball era and likely will be on the outside looking in.
But most of the drama surrounds McGehee, who certainly helped himself Saturday with a dramatic 11-pitch at bat against Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal that resulted in McGehee driving home the game-tying run with two outs in the ninth inning. He then hustled home from second on Jeff Baker’s pinch-hit single to score the go-ahead run that that held up for the Marlins. And this came less than 24 hours after McGehee was as distraught over an at bat as he had been all season when grounded into a game-ending double play off Rosenthal with the Marlins trailing by a run.
“As frustrating as sometimes it might be, I try not to bring last night back to the field with me,” McGehee said. “Sometimes it’s a little easier said than done.
“It’s hard enough to go up there and hit big league pitching. If you’re doing it with a vendetta, or revenge, or whatever and frustration in your mind, it makes it even that much harder.”
McGehee has two avenues to becoming a first-time All-Star: The players vote or being a manager’s selection.
He has not appeared in the top five of the fan voting throughout the entire process, so that is out. Aramis Ramirez of the Brewers was the leader with two days of voting remaining. The players vote will be interesting with Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier’s 17 home runs hard to ignore. And Matheny could have a tough choice if it comes down to having to go with McGehee or his guy, Matt Carpenter.
Here’s the comparison:
McGehee’s slash line: .317/.385/.392. 1 HR. 52 RBI.
Carpenter’s slash line: .286/.378/.393. 4 HR. 32 RBI.
Frazier’s slash line: .258/.354/.500. 17 HR. 47 RBI.
Ramirez’s slash line: .286/.339/.479. 11 HR. 41 RBI.
McGehee entered the day leading the NL with 106 hits and leading all of baseball with a .391 average with runners in scoring position.
Matheny likely will take three third basemen. With 34-man rosters, he could even add Carpenter because of versatility and ability to play several positions.
We’ll know soon enough.
Menechino: David Wright fears Stanton
Speaking of Stanton, Marlins hitting coach Frank Menechino told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today that one third baseman in particular is “afraid” when the powerful slugger is at the plate.
“David Wright is definitely afraid of playing third base when he’s up,” Menechino said of the Mets’ third baseman. “You can just see it. He’s way back on the grass. He’s had some bullets hit at him from Stanton. You can just tell. You can tell when a guy is scared.”
Solano’s redemption
Donovan Solano has made up for a couple of tough games in the field and on the bases with two huge games at the plate.
Solano’s inability to turn a double play in the ninth inning Thursday contributed to the Marlins’ loss to the Phillies in which Steve Cishek blew his second save of the season. Then, in the opener in St. Louis, he should have been more heads up on the bases in the ninth inning and scored on Christian Yelich’s hit. Instead he scampered back to second thinking Matt Holiday caught the ball and nearly was passed by Reed Johnson, whose heads up play saved Solano.
But Solano has six hits and has scored two runs in the first two games of the series against his old organization. He is 6-for-9 against the Cardinals and 15-for-80 against all other teams.
“I learned that once it’s already happened, it’s already happened,” Solano said. “It’s in the past. What happens in the past, stays in the past. Every day is a new day and I try to do something good for the team, to help the team win.”
Hechavarria returns
SS Adeiny Hechavarria (triceps strain) arrived at Busch Stadium 1 hour, 40 minutes before the first pitch today and is in the lineup for the rubber match of the three-game series. Hechavarria came off the DL after playing rehab games in Jupiter Friday and Saturday. OF Jake Marisnick was optioned to Triple A New Orleans Saturday to make room for Hech.
Today’s lineup
MARLINS (42-45): Yelich LF, Lucas 2B, Stanton RF, McGehee 3B, Ozuna CF, Baker 1B, Salty C, Hech SS, Alvarez RHP.
CARDINALS (47-41): Carpenter 3B, Holliday LF, Adams 1B, Craig RF, Molina C, Taveras CF, Wong 2B, Descalso SS, Gonzales LHP.
