Series preview: Braves at Marlins
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Friday (FSSO), 4:10 p.m. Saturday (FS1), 1:10 p.m. Sunday (FSSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Friday: Braves RH Julio Teheran (4-3, 1.77 ERA) vs. RH Tom Koehler (4-4, 3.10)
Saturday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (4-2, 4.06) vs. RH Jacob Turner (1-2, 5.35)
Sunday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (4-4, 3.29) vs. RH Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 3.36)
About the Braves:
Batting: Evan Gattis is 19-for-57 (.333) with seven doubles, five homers and 18 RBIs in 16 career games against the Marlins, including four doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs in 10 games at Miami…. Chris Johnson has a .354 average (23-for-65) in 16 games at Marlins Park, albeit with 20 singles and three doubles…. Justin Upton has hit .300 with eight doubles and four homers in 16 games at Marlins Park.
Pitching: Teheran is 2-0 with a .179 opponents' average with 15 strikeouts in 15 scoreless innings over his past two starts, after giving up seven hits and four earned runs in a career-low 3 1/3 innings May 14 at San Francisco when he had trouble gripping the ball. He's 3-0 with a 2.51 ERA in five starts against the Marlins including a 1.98 ERA and .208 opponents' average in the past four. He allowed five hits, one run and one walk while striking out eight in seven innings for no decision in April 21 in a Braves win against Koehler.
Miscellaneous: Against Koehler, Gattis is 3-for-6, Freddie Freeman is 4-for-9, Justin Upton and Johnson each is 3-for-7, and Andrelton Simmons is 2-for-9 with a homer. Jason Heyward is 0-for-7 against Koehler…. Santana is 0-2 with a 5.95 ERA in four starts against the Marlins, and Harang is 5-5 with a 6.54 ERA in 15 starts against them. Harang got rocked April 30 in Miami (4 2/3 innings, 10 hits, nine runs) when the Braves were swept in a three-game series.
About the Marlins:
Batting: Giancarlo Stanton is 32-for-80 (.390) with 13 extra-base hits (seven home runs) and 20 walks in his past 24 games, and has a .510 OBP and .732 slugging percentage during that period. He's 9-for-21 with three homers in his past six games…. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is 11-for-66 (.167) with no homers, seven walks, 27 strikeouts and three errors in his past 19 games…. Garrett Jones is 17-for-49 (.347) with 10 extra-base hits (three homers) and 11 RBIs in his past 14 games.
Pitching: Koehler is 1-2 with a 6.32 ERA in an erratic three-game stretch in which he's given up six hits and four runs in 3 21/3 innings in a loss to the Dodgers, and nine hits and seven runs in five innings of a loss to the Brewers. In between those starts he pitched seven scoreless innings (four hits, seven strikeouts) in a win at San Francisco. He's 0-1 with a 3.54 ERA in six games against the Braves, including a 4.41 ERA in three starts. He had eight strikeouts and gave up two runs in 6 1/3 innings for no decision April 21 in his only start against them this season…. Turner is 1-2 with a 3.80 ERA in four starts against the Braves, and Eovaldi is 2-1 with a 1.80 ERA in eight starts against them, with 45 strikeouts and 17 walks in 50 innings.
Miscellaneous: The Braves won't have to face Jose Fernandez, who is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two starts against them this season, with 22 strikeouts, two walks and five hits allowed in 16 innings. The Cuban phenom had Tommy John surgery and is out for the rest of the season.
By David O’Brien
