NewsMiller ready to restart season vs. LA
Florida (17-19) vs. Los Angeles (25-12), 6:10 p.m. ET
By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
05/16/09 12:58 AM ET
MIAMI -- Andrew Miller's first start of the season came on April 15.But his much-needed fresh start will come on Saturday.
That's when the Marlins' 6-foot-7 left-hander will make his first appearance since April 20, when he left his start against Pittsburgh early because of a right oblique strain that landed him on the disabled list.
The Marlins will officially activate Miller on Saturday before the game. After Friday's 6-4 loss to the Dodgers, the club optioned outfielder Brett Carroll -- who saw action in 25 games and went 3-for-21 at the plate -- to Triple-A New Orleans to make room on the 25-man roster.
It hasn't been an easy fourth Major League season for Miller thus far.
The 23-year-old came into Spring Training trying to adjust to a new delivery, lost the battle for the No. 4 spot in the starting rotation to Anibal Sanchez, started off the season coming out of the bullpen and gave up eight runs in 9 1/3 innings in his only two starts this year.
"Obviously, I wasn't very excited with the way [the season] started for myself," Miller said, "but I just kind of look at it as a chance to start over and go out and help the team."
And boy does his team need him.
Sanchez is currently on the 15-day disabled list and hasn't begun throwing off the mound yet, Opening Day starter Ricky Nolasco has struggled through his first eight starts of the season -- going 2-4 with a 7.78 ERA -- and a starting rotation that was supposed to be one of the best in baseball came into a three-game series against the Dodgers at Land Shark Stadium ranked 21st in the Majors with a 5.01 ERA.
The fourth and fifth starters in that rotation -- a list that includes Sanchez, Miller and temporary replacements John Koronka and Graham Taylor -- are a collective 1-8 with a 6.75 ERA, and the Marlins are 3-9 in games they've started.
"We need him," Marlins pitching coach Mark Wiley said about Miller. "And we need him to go out every fifth day in order for our starting rotation to perform the way it should.
"It's important that he takes his opportunity and comes in the game and attacks right from the beginning. It's not so much settling in. He's got to go and get it."
Miller recently completed two Minor League starts and notched 83 pitches for Double-A Jacksonville on Monday -- when he gave up one run on five hits while walking two and striking out five in six innings. And Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said he could see Miller extending himself all the way to 100 pitches on Saturday if he has to.
Miller said he first suffered the injury while coming out of the bullpen at the beginning of the season, and recently said the new delivery might've caused it -- though he didn't see a reason to scratch it and go back to what he was doing the previous season.
Wiley, however, disagreed, saying it was probably caused by "just using new muscles and not using the right muscles."
Whatever the reason, Miller said the guy who couldn't get into the fifth inning in his two starts this season wasn't him -- at least not theoretically.
"For me, it's nice to be healthy," Miller said. "I wasn't pitching healthy in those two outings. I was trying to get by, but it just wasn't any better. I don't think I was anything close to the pitcher I know I can be.
"I'm just happy everything seems to be fine health-wise and [I can] just get out there and see what I can do."
Pitching matchupFLA: LHP Andrew Miller (0-1, 6.94 ERA)
After two solid rehab outings, Miller will be ready to rejoin the rotation against the Dodgers. Now that he's recovered from his right oblique injury, the task will be improving his results -- he has allowed eight walks and 14 hits in 11 2/3 innings with the big league club this year, with just three strikeouts. On the bright side, he has yet to allow a home run, and he remains one of the most promising pitching prospects in baseball. LAD: LHP Eric Milton (0-4, 5.17 ERA)
Milton was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque after Thursday's win at Philadelphia and was immediately placed into the Dodgers rotation. The 33-year-old left-hander hasn't pitched in the Major Leagues since undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery in 2007. Milton was 3-2 with a 2.83 ERA in seven starts at Triple-A this season. In 10 Major League seasons, Milton is 87-84. He tossed a no-hitter for the Twins in 1999 against the Angels. Tidbits
It would be a rare situation, but if the Marlins need an emergency No. 3 catcher, Gonzalez said 23-year-old Chris Coghlan, who played the position in high school, would be the guy. ... Prior to giving up a run in the ninth on Friday, closer Matt Lindstrom hadn't appeared in a game since last Saturday against the Rockies -- his longest stretch since he came back from a strained right rotator cuff on April 8. Gonzalez said he was going to get him in that game regardless. "I've been consistent with my routine and stuff, so [having a long layoff] shouldn't be that big of an obstacle to overcome," Lindstrom said before Friday's game. ... The Marlins Community Foundation presented scholarship checks for $4,200 to the Jackie Robinson Foundation in honor of two "Jackie Robinson Scholars" -- Kyle Rhoden of Plantation, Fla., and Vanessa Obas of Palm Bay, Fla. ... After going 1-for-4, Hanley Ramirez is now riding a 12-game hitting streak that has him batting .500 in that stretch. The longest hitting streak of his career was 14, from June 24-July 7, 2008. ... With a single in the first inning, Emilio Bonifacio equaled a career-best seven-game hitting streak. Tickets
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• Sunday: Marlins (John Koronka, 0-1, 9.64) vs. Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw, 1-3, 5.21), 1:10 p.m. ET
• Monday: Marlins (Ricky Nolasco, 2-4, 7.78) vs. Diamondbacks (Dan Haren, 3-4, 2.09), 7:10 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Marlins (Josh Johnson, 3-0, 2.50) vs. Diamondbacks (TBD), 7:10 p.m. ET
Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
