Braves and Marlins kick off Division Match-up Friday
On Friday, the Atlanta Braves open up a three-game series against the Florida Marlins at Sun Life Stadium for a series that could have serious implications in the NL East standings. The Braves finished their series against the San Diego Padres, taking two of three games to improve to 56-39 to stay atop the NL East. The Marlins finished a four-game set against the Colorado Rockies, winning three of four games to improve to 47-48 on the season and nine games behind the Braves in the East. The Braves have a seven-game lead in the East, but a lost series could turn the whole situation around.
Pitching leading the way for both teams
Both the Braves and the Marlins have two 10-game winners this season, with Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco leading the way for the Marlins, and Tim Hudson and Derek Lowe for the Braves.
The Braves are sending Lowe, who is 10-8 in the season, to the mound on Friday night. He has an ERA of 4.39 but has been solid in his past 10 starts, with four wins, four losses and two no decisions. His worst outing in that stretch was against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where he went just four innings and gave up seven earned runs on eight hits. His best outing was much different, throwing seven innings and giving up just one run on four hits.
The Marlins aren't sending either of their 10-game winners to the mound on Friday night, however. They're sending 21 year-old Alex Sanabia into the game, who was only added a month ago to their roster. Sanabia has started two games this season with a 1-1 record. He's given up 19 hits for four earned runs in 17.0 innings. The Marlins will have to give him a lot of run support to ease him into his third start of his young career, but that hasn't come since the break. The Marlins are averaging less than three runs in their seven games after the break, getting shutout in both losses.
Hitting going in different directions for the teams
The Marlins are winning behind their pitching, for the most part, during the start of their second half 5-2 start. Jorge Cantu is leading their team with seven hits in the second half in 21 at bats but only has two RBIs. Gaby Sanchez is leading with four RBIs on five hits with one home run on 18 at bats. They've spread the wealth as far as RBIs with eight players contributing to the runs.
The Braves, on the other hand, are 4-3 after the break, but hitting much better than the Marlins. Brian McCann has eight RBIs on seven hits and two home runs in 22 at bats in all six games, while Matt Diaz has another eight RBIs with three home runs in seven hits in 17 at bats. Seven of their players are hitting above .300 post All-Star break.
Atlanta's stars rebounding well from injuries
Diaz and Jason Heyward both had thumb injuries that sent them to the disabled list. Diaz missed more time than the rookie Heyward, but both have bounced back strongly. As mentioned before, Diaz has seven hits and eight RBIs. Heyward has a team-leading eight hits after the break and only one RBI, but you can sense that both hitters are coming back strongly.
After their win in San Diego on Monday, Diaz said to Heyward: "It sure is good to hit with a healthy thumb."
"He's over that injury 100 percent," said Atlanta's manager Bobby Cox. "And you saw tonight what happened. He's been hot as heck."
Heyward added: "It's definitely nice to at least have what you need to be productive.” The rookie missed his first All-Star game due to the injury.
Tags: