The Miami Marlins (33-38) are mired in an awful slump, with a 7-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays (37-34) on Saturday night Miami's sixth loss in a row and 15th in their last 17 games. In those 17 contests, the Marlins have been outscored 120-42 and are hitting a woeful .160 with runners in scoring position.
Mark Buehrle (5-8, 3.82 ERA) will take the hill for Ozzie Guillen's club on Sunday, hoping to prevent a season-worst seven game losing streak. The veteran lefty has struggled mightily in June, going 0-4 with a 5.48 ERA this month. In his career, Buehrle is 6-4 versus Toronto with a 2.64 ERA.
The Blue Jays rotation has suffered a string of injuries, and will be forced to send Jesse Chavez (0-8, 8.22 ERA) to the mound on Sunday to face Miami. In his first big league start on Tuesday, Chavez allowed four runs, three hits and four walks in just 2 2/3 innings of work.
Toronto entered this weekend interleague series losers of eight straight games against Miami, but now have the chance to earn their first ever sweep over the Marlins with a win on Sunday.
For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Marlins, visit Fish Stripes. For more on the Blue Jays throughout this interleague series, visit Bluebird Banter. Head over to Baseball Nation for more news and notes from around the Major Leagues.