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"If Jeremy Hellickson was simply auditioning Wednesday for a role in the Miami Marlins&#039; pitching rotation, it would be fitting to call the tailor.Beat them, join them?Not so fast. The Phillies right-hander did provide a showcase of what the Marlins are seeking to upgrade their starting rotation as he held them to one run in eight innings of a 4-1 victory at Citizens Bank Park.Hellickson (7-7) is one of the names that has surfaced as a rumored target of the Marlins approaching the Aug. 1 non-waiver trading deadline. There figures to be plenty of competition for pitchers like him, though, with teams with playoff aspirations eager to play &amp;quot;Let&#039;s Make an Arms Deal.&amp;quot;Were such a trade to occur with Miami, Hellickson would become the third Scott Boras client in the Marlins&#039; rotation, joining Jose Fernandez and Wei-Yin Chen, whom he bested Wednesday.Chen, a frequent victim of the long ball, served his 20th home run of the season and trailed 2-0 two batters in when light-hitting Tyler Goedell (.209 entering the game) barely cleared the wall in right for his fourth homer.Chen&#039;s homers allowed (in 19 starts) are one short of the most in the National League, behind Max Scherzer.Hellickson has a similar tendency, giving up 18 in his previous 19 starts. Chris Johnson took him deep in the fifth inning, lining a 3-1 fastball into the seats in left for his fourth homer.He allowed four scattered singles the rest of the way and didn&#039;t issue a walk while striking out eight.Although winning the first two games of the series in extra-innings, the Marlins have been handcuffed by the Phillies starters in all three games so far. They managed only two runs — both on solo homers — and 10 hits in 21 innings against Aaron Nola, Vince Velasquez and Hellickson.In a fraction of that, Chen gave up 11 hits, matching a season high, and four runs in 5 1/3 innings. The Taiwanese left-hander also allowed 11 hits and four runs against the Phillies in five innings at Miami on May 6.The Marlins have gotten sub-par production from starters beyond Fernandez and Adam Conley, and have struggled to fill the No. 5 spot all season, although Jose Urena turned in a commendable performance in his first attempt Tuesday.Earning $7 million in 2016 and eligible for free agency after the season, Hellickson is believed to be available in trade.Michael Hill, Marlins president of baseball operations, said Tuesday there are plenty of teams with postseason ambitions seeking starting pitchers in a slim market.Marlins&#039; pro scouts are watching starts of a number of pitchers throughout baseball and have a priority list, Hill said.&amp;quot;We know who we&#039;d like to get. That doesn&#039;t mean they&#039;re available,&amp;quot; he said.Nonetheless, with the Marlins currently in one of two wild-card spots and within striking distance of NL East leader Washington, they are determined to upgrade the weakest area of the club.&amp;quot;We feel like if we can add a mid-rotation starter, it could make a significant impact,&amp;quot; Hill said. &amp;quot;We&#039;re looking for quality.&amp;quot;Hellickson, 29, appears to fit that description. Although he hasn&#039;t maintained the level of his American League Rookie of the Year season oin 2011, he turned in a quality effort Wednesday.Hellickson faced the minimum the first time through the order, with the only hit he allowed immediately erased on a double play.The Marlins got two runners aboard in the fourth, but he got Giancarlo Stanton to pop out to second and retired Marcell Ozuna on a long foul fly to right.Hellickson retired 10 of the last 11 hitters he faced, with one reaching on an error. He 102 pitches before leaving for a pinch-hitter.Chen, the Marlins&#039; $80 million offseason acquisition, has fallen short of top-of-the-rotation expectations. With a 6.00 ERA in his previous seven starts, he put his team in an immediate hole with the homer. Goeddel drove in another run in the second with a two-out single.Chen (5-4) would exit with runners on second and third with one out in the sixth. One of those would score on a sacrifice fly by Peter Bourjos, the first inherited runner to to do so this season against Nick Wittgren, who had stranded all 12 previous runners.It was much too much with Hellickson in full showcase mode."
<https://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-marlins/fl-marlins-phillies-0721-20160720-story.html>