Miami's strength is middle relief and defense
It's fairly incredible that team with two starters with ERAs in the 6's and the offensive troubles that have recently plagued the Palms are still so stridently in contention, but one needs only look at the middle of the bullpen and the defensive metrics to see how it's possible.
While the back of the bullpen, specifically Francisco Rodriguez and Cody Allen, have struggled to find a groove this year, Keith Harding, Brian Matusz and Mike Morin have all done very well, with ERAs below 3.10.
The most successful starter this season has been Manny Parra, but his strikeout rate, nor his walk rate have been exceptional, but his batting average on balls in play has been near the best in the league. This isn’t necessarily a skill that Parra can take ownership of, but is rather attributable to the defenders behind him, where he has a couple of the best corner outfielders in the league, and a couple of gold glove caliber infielders in Chris Korb and Jaspero Gonzalez.
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