After a dominant start to the season that seemingly put Detroit as the de facto champions of the AL Central division, their recent slide has suggested otherwise. On the other hand, after tumultuous seasons in 2012 and 2013, the Miami Marlins have rebounded and have a shot at the postseason.
Since the All-Star break, the Tigers are 10-15 and have fallen 0.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the division lead. At 63-54, they're currently tied for the second wild card spot with the Seattle Mariners (64-55), while the Angels have a strong 5.5 game lead for the top spot. The Royals, after dropping their first four after the All-Star break, have gone 15-4 and won 11 of their last 13 to take the AL Central lead with a 64-54 record.
Unfortunately for Detroit, they've also ran into some injury issues, sending both Anibal Sanchez and Joakim Soria to the disabled list on Sunday and will have Justin Verlander skip his next start after an MRI revealed inflammation in his throwing shoulder. Verlander left after the first inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday with discomfort in the area and he underwent an MRI on Tuesday. On top of the injuries, Miguel Cabrera, the reigning MVP from 2012 and 2013, hasn't been himself as of late. During the Tigers' current slide (6-12 in their last 18 games), Cabrera is batting just .279 with two home runs and five RBIs. Obviously Cabrera cannot carry the team, but when he's underperforming it's safe to say team's success can be reflected as a whole.
While the Tigers seem to be imploding at the wrong time, the Miami Marlins are impressing and could be the dark horses for an NL wild card spot. After abysmal years in 2012 and 2013 (a combined 131-193), the Marlins are 59-60 this year with a squad that many appeared to have underestimated. Since the All-Star break, Miami is 15-9 and has clawed their way to 3.5 games back of the second NL wild card spot. They're also six games behind the Washington Nationals for the NL East division lead.
Giancarlo Stanton has been a big reason why the Marlins have stayed afloat this year, especially since the All-Star break. Stanton has cranked 10 home runs and batted in 19 runs in the past 24 games to add to his .291 average, 31 home runs and 82 RBIs on the year. But the starting rotation has also played a big role in the Marlins success. The team acquired Jarred Cosart from the Astros and he threw seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 victory over Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals on Tuesday night. Henderson Alvarez has been spectacular this year, amassing an 8-5 record with a 2.48 ERA. In five starts since the All-Star break, Tom Koehler has gone 2-2 with a 3.39 ERA and Brad Hand is 2-2 in five starts as well with a 3.92 ERA.
If the Marlins can keep up the solid baseball, they might be able to catch the St. Louis Cardinals for the final NL wild card spot, while Detroit is going to need to escape their current funk if they want to capture the AL Central division title.
