Marlins seeing double plays in lieu of runs

MILWAUKEE -- One reason the Marlins are last in the Major Leagues in runs scored is because they rank near the top in an undesirable category.

Through Saturday, the Marlins have grounded into 89 double plays, the fourth most in the game.

Double plays have crippled the club all season.

"I think that's what happens when you're not swinging the bats well: You ground into double plays," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "That's what happened for [the first] two months. We were grounding into double plays.

"When you're going good, that's a line drive to right. Now, we're getting a couple of good at-bats from a couple of guys. That's it. Really, we're getting shut down, one through eight."

But grounding into double plays does not tell the complete story for a team.

What is telling for the Marlins is that they have a high number of double plays while not scoring many runs. Shut out in back-to-back games by Milwaukee in its current series, Miami remained stuck on 306 runs, the fewest in the Majors.

On the flip side, the team to ground into the most double plays is the Cardinals, with 98 through Saturday. The difference is, St. Louis had 474 runs, the most in the National League and third most in the game.

The Angels were second in double plays, with 95. But they tied for seventh overall in runs scored (436). And the D-backs were third in double plays (90) while 14th in runs (402).

Inexperience is certainly a factor for the youthful Marlins, who are striving to make steady progress in the second half.

"Offensively, we're just not getting anything going," Redmond said. "We're getting completely shut down. We're not getting guys on base. We're not getting big hits with the bases loaded. We've had a couple of opportunities to at least put a couple of runs across with a big hit, or a hit. We're not getting it.

"I know guys out there are trying, but at the same time, too, let's go. This is July."