Marlins surging in NL East

The Miami Marlins were one of the biggest stories this past offseason, as they signed a trio of high-priced free agents -- Heath Bell, Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes -- and hired a flashy new manager in Ozzie Guillen to add some spice to the unveiling of their new ballpark. With a slow start, it seemed that they were all sizzle and no steak -- they had been ranked in the bottom 10 of the ESPN Power Rankings in each of the past two weeks.

But after winning 10 of their past 12 games, the Marlins have moved up 10 spots from last week and rank 12th this week. And with 21 of their next 29 games at home, the Fish may be about to start asserting themselves.

With an 8-6 mark at home, the Marlins are just one of two teams yet to play 15 home games (the Atlanta Braves are the other). The limited early reps may have been making it harder for Miami to find a rhythm in its new building. At the end of April, the Marlins had a four-game home series with the Arizona Diamondbacks that was preceded by five road games and followed by a nine-game road trip.

They went 1-3 in the series and were outscored by 12 runs against Arizona, but after taking two of three from the Mets at home this weekend, the Marlins seem to be finding their footing in their new park.

To read the full story, plus get access to all of ESPN Insider's MLB content, sign up today and become and Insider.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email
• Subscribe