After a series win against the Philadelphia Phillies, the Atlanta Braves look to close out the first half on a positive note against the Miami Marlins.
The Atlanta Braves have beat up on the Marlins this year as they are 8-1 in their three series against them.
But the Marlins have been playing better baseball since the Atlanta Braves last saw them going 9-13 since then. They were 9-10 after that last series against the Braves before the red hot Washington Nationals swept them earlier this week.
Atlanta has been just as hot and you hope they keep their foot on the gas going into the All-Star break.
Game 1 – Jordan Yamamoto vs. Julio TeheranÂ
The Friday night matchup is very interesting because Jordan Yamamoto is off to a great start in his Major League career with three wins in four starts and an ERA of 2.35.
However, in his last two outings (both against the Phillies), he’s given up 6 runs in 9 innings. He only gave up 5 hits in those two outings, but he walks 8.
Yamamoto had a 3.58 ERA in 12 starts at Double-A before being called up. If the Atlanta Braves hitters can be patient and make these guy throw strikes, they should have a lot of success against the young righty.
On the other hand, Julio Teheran has not made it past the fourth inning in his last three starts — weather helped shorten his last outing, but it still wasn’t great.
Maybe he can get back on track against Miami who he’s dominated so far this year pitching 12 scoreless innings against them in 2019.
Game 2 – Caleb Smith vs. Max FriedÂ
Miami’s best starting pitcher this season is expected to return from the IL on Saturday to face the Atlanta Braves.
Caleb Smith landed on the IL because of hip inflammation but is ready to return after two rehab starts. Those starts were not great as he gave up 6 runs in 9.1 innings, but most of that damage was done on the four home runs he gave up.
Earlier this season he gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks over 6 innings earning a no-decision against the Braves.
He gave up two home runs in that outing, and with the way Atlanta has been hitting home runs lately — and being at SunTrust Park — could benefit the Braves in this one.
Max Fried struggled in June giving up at least 2 runs in every start and an ERA of 5.68 for the month. But his last three starts have been decent, and he had a quality start against Miami early in June.
I would love to see the lefty end the first half on a positive note with a dominant start.
Game 3 – Trevor Richards vs. Dallas KeuchelÂ
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It’s been an up-and-down season for Trevor Richards as he was bad in April, great in May, and then so-so in June.
He was brilliant against the Atlanta Braves in June as he gave up just 1 run on 2 hits and 3 walks over 7 innings but took the tough-luck loss.
And earlier this year he pitched 4.1 scoreless innings against the Braves allowing just 2 hits and 3 walks but was run out of the game because of a high pitch count.
Dallas Keuchel was great in his last outing but unfortunately, Aaron Nola was better.
Not many Marlins hitters have experience against Keuchel, and those that do haven’t had much success against him.
Hopefully we see another great performance from Keuchel this time and the offense rewards him with a win.
Series Preview and Prediction
Based on the odds of this season, and the fact that the Marlins have lost four in a row, it’s hard to predict the Atlanta Braves will sweep this series.
Even though the Braves outmatch the Marlins in every way in this series, this is baseball, and even the best team can lose to the worst team on a given day.
Having said that, this has to easily be a series win for the Atlanta Braves. And it wouldn’t be that shocking if they swept the Marlins this weekend.
Anything other than those two outcomes would end the first half on a sour note, especially with the Nationals probably having a big weekend against the Kansas City Royals.