The Atlanta Braves get ready for their second series of a nine-game homestand against the Miami Marlins. They are coming hot off of a win against the defending champions in the Texas Rangers, taking two of the three games.
The offense was led by an impressive display of power from Travis d'Arnaud, who launched three homers in one game with four in the series. Marcell Ozuna, continued his tear to begin the season by blasting his 9th homer and already racking up 27 RBI.
As for the pitching in the series, Chris Sale and Charlie Morton had efficient starts, surrendering three and two earned runs respectively. Darius Vines struggled in his second outing of the season, allowing four runs on seven hits in the closing game of the series.
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Regarding the injury report ahead of this series, Ozzie Albies is still out with the injured big toe but has reportedly made progress after being able to fully remove his protective walking boot and participate in fielding drills. He is hoping to make a return to the lineup this weekend.
In addition to that, the Braves have optioned Darius Vines to Triple-A Gwinnett after his second start and called up Bryce Elder to the active roster to make his first major league start of the season. Elder has started three games and is pitching to the tune of a 3.31 ERA in Triple-A this year. Last year was a major development year for Elder as he finished with a 3.81 ERA12-4 record, and both himself and the team hope to improve on that even more this season.
The Marlins started this season with an MLB-worst 0-9 record, and have yet to bounce back in the slightest, sitting in last place of the NL East with a 6-17 record. They enter game one hoping to win their first series of the year, with their best series performance coming from splitting with the Cubs at Wrigley for two wins a piece in their four-game set.
The Marlins have the potential as a team, and this was shown last year when they played their way into the Wild Card series against the Phillies. Although they had lost in a two-game sweep, it still showed the potential of this young Marlins squad. It may not seem like it now, but Miami may sneakily come back as a rival later down the line this season, which is why the Braves must beat them while they are down.
The Braves are entering this series with an NL-leading 14-6 record, and the hot bats of the lineup behind them. Their lineup boasts league-leading stats in batting average, at .283, a .353 on-base percentage, a .475 slugging, and a .828 OPS. The Marlins are close to last in the NL in most of these categories and should be easy to shut down. The Braves should go into this series expecting to add more wins to their record and expand their series win streak to four in a row.
Probable starting pitchers for Braves vs. Marlins
Game one: Ryan Weathers (2-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. Bryce Elder (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Game two: Trevor Rogers (0-2, 3.92 ERA) vs. Max Fried (1-0, 7.71 ERA)
Game three: TBD vs. Reynaldo López (2-0, 0.50 ERA)