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Atlanta Braves to End Home Stand Against Marlins

By Adam Greene

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The Atlanta Braves are looking to get back on top this weekend as they play host to the Miami Marlins for the next 4 games.

Having only won 1 of their past 6 series since the All-Star Break, this is certainly a team that can help get the Atlanta Braves going before they go into arguably their toughest stretch of the year.

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The Miami Marlins have been abysmal since the break. And certainly the Braves haven’t done much better, but with Atlanta’s offense currently reeling, the Marlins pitching may give the Braves a bit of hope to get things rolling again despite not having Andrelton Simmons or Freddie Freeman in the lineup.

 The Atlanta Braves will face some of the weaker arms in the starting rotation for the Marlins in Jose Urena (1-5) and Brad Hand (1-2). The toughest outing for the Braves in this series will be against the Marlins ace, Jose Fernandez (4-0). The good news about that game is that the Braves will have Julio Teheran (7-6) going against him, and hopefully we may get to see a more aggressive game plan from Teheran carry over from his last start.

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If it were Shelby Miller pitching in the match-up against Fernandez, I would be worried as the Braves struggle to give him little, if any run support when he is on the mound. The wildcard game for this series will come down to Tom Koehler (8-8) vs. Mike Foltynewicz (3-3).

Honestly, this series will come down to what the Atlanta Braves can muster up on offense. They are going against 3 guys who give up a lot of runs in Koehler, Hand and Urena. The lowest of those three boasts a 3.71 ERA in Koehler. The Braves have had major success against the Marlins so far this season, as they’ve managed to do that thing where they break out the brooms after winning every game in a series twice to them already (There’s a word for it, but I’d rather not jinx them).

The Braves will start the series on Thursday at 7:10 pm with Matt Wisler (5-2) on the mound. The weather for that game doesn’t look promising as there is a good chance of rain all day, so look for that to possibly factor into the match-up.

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A game like this could be a bit worrisome for Manager Fredi Gonzalez if the game starts and ends up being delayed. It could force him to dip into the bullpen early, and unfortunately that situation would not be the most desirable scenario.

Opponents have outscored the Miami Marlins 81-53 since the All-Star Break, so now is as good a time as any for the Atlanta Braves to take care of business at home and come away with a winning series against a team that is also struggling. My prediction is that the Braves come away from this series 3-1 before they get a much-needed day of rest on Monday.

Next: Atlanta Braves Fall to Madison Bumgarner, Giants 6-1

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