Braves vs Marlins Preview (8/9-8/11)

Aug 7, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel (46) throws during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Enjoying a 13-game win streak and longest streak of that nature in 13 years, the Braves sit quite comfortably ahead of the second place Washington Nationals by a 15 1/2 game margin. So coming off a sweep of said Nationals, the Braves turn their attention to the cellar dwellers better known as the Miami Marlins–who sit just a mere 26, count ’em 26, games out of first place.

During this enjoyable win streak, the Braves have been absolutely dominant in every sense of the word. The team is batting .298, including .325 with runners in scoring position, while outscoring opponents 77-31 during its longest run since posting 15 consecutive victories April 16-May 2, 2000.

Justin Upton told mlb.com, “Anytime you can win as many ballgames as we have, team morale is good and things are going well for us. So it’s definitely fun to be a part of.”

Well, it’s been fun for fans too, Justin.

While it’s always fun to partake in making fun of the Miami Marlins, they actually have been no joke in recent weeks. Although sitting 27 games below the .500 mark, the Marlins pitching staff has the sixth best team ERA in the National League and have had the second best team ERA (2.81) since the All-Star break (the Braves are third).

The one thing that separates these two teams, among several other things, has been the offense. Since the All-Star break the Braves are batting .275 which is good enough for second in the NL, while the Marlins are dead last in team batting average with a .221 mark. So the pitching has kept the Marlins in games, but the offense has been absolutely dreadful.

Here are the pitching probables for the two teams:

Friday: Jacob Turner (3-3, 2.68 ERA) vs Brandon Beachy (0-0, 9.00 ERA)

As Brandon Beachy continues to get further away from Tommy John surgery, he continues to get better and better in the two outings he has made this year. Beachy was tagged for a career-high seven runs in 3 2/3 innings against Colorado in his season debut July 29 before yielding four runs in 6 1/3 innings Saturday in a 5-4, 12-inning win at Philadelphia. In his career against the Marlins, Beachy is 2-0 with a 2.94 ERA with 40 strike outs in 33 2/3 innings pitched.

As for the Marlins, Jacob Turner is coming off his ninth quality start, and has surrendered less than three earned runs for the fourth time in his last five outings. In his young career, Turner is 1-1 with a 2.77 ERA against the Braves in 13 innings pitched.

Saturday: Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 3.19 ERA) vs Alex Wood (2-2, 3.20 ERA)

It’s the battle of two rising stars for their respective teams, and both have pitched extremely well. Alex Wood notched his second career victory in his last outing against the Phillies when he allowed a run on two hits over six innings pitched, struck out three and walked two batters. Wood will be making his first career start against the Marlins, but does have three strikeouts in three innings pitched against Miami.

As for the Marlins they will be throwing out potential second starter behind Jose Fernandez (provided that they aren’t traded..because..you know) . However, Eovaldi has received no run support in his past four starts, resulting in two losses and two no-decisions and has eight quality starts in nine tries. Braves fans hope that streak of bad luck continues during this series. In his career against the Braves, Eovaldi is 0-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 22 innings pitched.

Sunday: Henderson Alvarez (2-1 2.80 ERA) vs Mike Minor (11-5, 2.76 ERA)

Braves’ starter Mike Minor is coming off one of his un-Mike Minor starts in the 2013 season. Minor battled through six innings of work and surrendered two runs on eight hits while striking out three and walking three. Minor is 2-3 with a 4.19 ERA against the Marlins in his career in 53 2/3 innings pitched.

The Marlins will be throwing out another prospect they hope to keep around for a few years in Henderson Alvarez. In seven innings against Pittsburgh, he allowed three runs and struck out six which gave him his fifth-straight quality start, but did not factor in the decision against the Pirates. This will be Henderson’s third start against the Braves, where he is 0-1 with a 5.73 ERA and seven strikeouts in 11 innings pitched in his career against the Braves.

Notes:

• Today is Jason Heyward’s birthday. He’s 24. It’s odd knowing that he is now one year older than me, and while he is launching home runs and scoring them, I still have yet to figure out how to hit a fastball. Happy birthday, Jason.
• The Braves have beaten the Marlins 35 times in the past 48 meetings. Atlanta owns a 6-3 edge in the series this year.
• Giancarlo “Don’t Call Me Mike” Stanton is in a year-long slump against the Braves this year and is also in a hitting slump right now. Stanton is just 4-for-34 and is 4 for 28 with no homers and two RBIs against the Braves this year.
• Justin Upton is batting .440 with five homers and 13 RBIs during a 12-game hitting streak.
• LeBron James will not be in the lineup this weekend, contrary to popular belief (bad joke…sorry).

Final Thought:

It’s easy to say the Braves should sleepwalk through this series and sweep the Marlins. But with the Marlins pitching, look for it to be tightly contested in all three games (of course I say this and all three could be blow outs). The Marlins have lost five games in a row, but the pitching has been really, really good. That being said the Braves should at least win the series against the Marlins if not sweep them considering their offense has been red hot.