Series Preview: Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins

The Atlanta Braves won two of their three games last series against the Philadelphia Phillies in style, and they’ll look to continue their roll against NL East opponents as they welcome in the Miami Marlins to town for a four game midweek set at the Ted. The Marlins are coming off a tough series against the NL West-leading San Francisco Giants, winning Sunday on a wild pitch from Tim Lincecum. The Marlins come into this series at 45-52, and trail the Nats and Braves by 7.5 games in the NL East standings.

Here are the projected pitching matchups for this series, all games are scheduled to start at 7:10:

Monday: Tom Koehler (6-7, 3.99 ERA) vs. Julio Teheran (9-6, 2.71 ERA)
Tuesday: Jacob Turner (2-6, 6.22 ERA) vs. Mike Minor (3-5, 4.86 ERA)
Wednesday: Nathan Eovaldi (5-5, 4.08 ERA) vs. Ervin Santana (8-6, 4.03 ERA)
Thursday: TBA vs. Aaron Harang (9-6, 3.36 ERA)

This week will mark the first time the Fish have come to Atlanta since April, in which the Braves took two of three, and the first time this season since the series in South Beach that ended May/began June. In that set, the Braves avenged a month-opening sweep to win three in a row themselves.

If you’re like me and enjoy seeing former Braves in action, you’re out of luck – over the weekend, Rafael Furcal was placed on the 60-day DL. However, Giancarlo Stanton alone could be worth the price of admission (especially on Tuesday with Minor on the bump. A game I’ll be going to, and with some luck, will see a Stanton blast), and if you haven’t kept up, the Fish are loaded with young talent, with guys like Christian Yelich, Adeiny Hechavarria and Derek Dietrich, as well as veteran catcher and former Georgia Tech standout Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Also, this will mark the first time since 2006 the Braves and Marlins will meet without Dan Uggla on either roster, with his release coming before the weekend.

With any luck, the Braves offense will pick up right where they left off yesterday, and it’ll be a great series for all in and around Braves Country.