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MIAMI — The Philadelphia Phillies Albert Pujols Jersey , who are trying to catch the Atlanta Braves in the National League East, would love nothing better than to sweep three games from the Miami Marlins this week.The host Marlins, in last place in the same division after Sunday’s 6-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, would love nothing better than to spoil the Phillies’ plan.“We are going to be playing teams that are contending for the postseason,” said Marlins infielder Martin Prado, referencing six remaining games against the Phillies and five against the Washington Nationals. “I hope we start a winning streak.”Article continues below ...The Phillies, of course, have different ideas. But the Phillies have struggled of late, going 8-15 since Aug. 8, and that includes Sunday’s 8-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.On Monday, Philadelphia will start veteran right-hander Vince Velasquez (9-9 Mike Trout Jersey , 4.05 ERA). And Velasquez, just like his team, has struggled of late, posting a 5.87 ERA in his past four starts.A 26-year-old native of California, Velasquez was a second-round pick of the Houston Astros in 2010. He made his major league debut with Houston in 2015 and began his Phillies career in 2016.Blessed with an above-average fastball at 94.1 mph, Velasquez is 20-23 with a 4.32 ERA in the span of his career. His nine wins this year are already a career high, and he has beaten the Marlins twice this year.In those two wins, Velasquez has pitched 12 1/3 innings, allowing just six hits, two walks and one run, striking out 13.Miami will counter with right-hander Jose Urena (4-12 http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , 4.56 ERA), who throws even harder than Velasquez at 95.8 mph on average and touching 98 mph.Urena is 0-1 with one no-decision against the Phillies this season, allowing 11 hits, five walks and six earned runs in 11 innings.In addition, Urena has not really taken advantage of the big dimensions of Marlins Park, posting a 1-9 record and a 4.45 home ERA so far this season.He also went 1-2 with a 5.33 ERA in August, which was not encouraging for the pitcher who is supposed to be Miami’s ace after a 14-7 record and a 3.82 ERA in 2017.Urena will face a Phillies lineup that entered Sunday ranked 15th in homers, 20th in the majors in runs scored, 23rd in OPS and 29th in doubles.The Phillies’ offense is led by left fielder Rhys Hoskins, who has 27 homers and 83 RBIs in his first full year in the majors. He also has an impressive 45 homers in 177 career games.Philadelphia on Sunday also started two players acquired within the past several weeks from the New York Mets: third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera and right fielder Jose Bautista.Cabrera, who beat the Chicago Cubs on Friday night with a walk-off Garrett Richards Jersey , 10th-inning solo home run, is confident that the Phillies team he joined in July has enough skill to get the playoffs this year.“We’ve got a really good team,” Cabrera told philly.com. “I believe in this team. We’re trying to show the younger guys how much fun it is to win at this level.” SAN DIEGO — With 15 games to go in the regular season, Texas Rangers manager Jeff Banister is making things complicated.On Friday night at Petco Park, Banister decided to follow a trend and use an “opener” to start the first game of a three-game series against the San Diego Padres. Right-hander Connor Sadzeck worked a scoreless first inning before turning the game over to scheduled starter Yohander Mendez, who pitched the next five innings of a five-hit Texas shutout.It was hinted that left-hander Jeffrey Springs would be the “opener” Saturday for the second straight time in front of scheduled right-handed starter Ariel Jurado (2-5, 7.03 ERA). Then Springs followed Mendez and worked two scoreless innings in relief Friday night.Article continues below ...Now it will be left-hander Alex Claudio (4-2, 4.87) “opening” for the Rangers on Saturday in front of Jurado against Padres’ rookie left-hander Eric Lauer (5-7, 4.80).The only thing that is certain is that neither Jurado nor Lauer has ever faced the other team before — although opener Claudio allowed a hit in a scoreless inning against the Padres back on June 26 in Texas.Lauer, 23, the 25th overall selection in the 2016 draft http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , will be making his 21st start of the season and his third start since returning from the disabled list Aug. 30 after missing 25 games with a forearm strain.Over nine innings since his return, Lauer has allowed one earned run on two hits and five walks with 10 strikeouts. Lauer has worked 95 2/3 innings on the season, giving up 57 runs (51 earned) on 113 hits and 42 walks with 85 strikeouts with a high .294 opponents’ batting average and a 1.62 WHIP.But over his last 13 starts, since June 2, Lauer has a 3.53 ERA while allowing three earned runs or fewer in 11 of those outings. The Padres went 6-7 in those 13 starts. Each of his five outings of six innings or more this season has resulted in a quality start. And after giving up 13 homers in his first 86 2/3 innings, Lauer has not allowed a homer in his two outings since returning.Tuesday night will mark the fourth time that Texas has used an “opener” in front of the starter. And each of the openers has been a left-hander in front of the right-handed starter.Padres manager Andy Green said Friday night that he would not adjust his starting lineup for one or two innings from an “opener.”Factually, this will be the 22-year-old Jurado’s third relief appearance against seven starts. He has worked a total of 39 2/3 innings this season, allowing 31 runs on 51 hits and 15 walks with just 14 strikeouts. Opposing hitters are batting .313 against Jurado, who has a 1.66 WHIP.Jurado spent the majority of the season with Double-A Frisco of the Texas League, going 5-3 with a 3.28 ERA in 16 starts. The Rangers are 3-4 in Jurado’s seven starts.