MIAMI MARLINS
At Miami (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday)
The skinny: The Marlins, 10-12 through Wednesday's loss against the Braves, ended a seven-game road losing streak at Turner Field last week before heading to New York for a three-game series against the Mets. Marlins manager Mike Redmond thinks his team can play with any in the East, but it has faltered in late innings throughout the season.
Series history: Although it seems that the Marlins are a constant thorn in the Braves side, the series has been dominated by Atlanta. The Braves own a 201-142 franchise record vs. the Marlins and were 13-6 in 2013. The Braves won last week's series, the first of the season for the two teams.
Last 10 games (through Thursday games): After ending an eight-game losing streak on April 15, the Marlins have gone 5-3, 5-5 during the 10-game stretch.
State of the union: Marlins manager Redmond to the Miami Herald on the team's late collapses: "We haven't gotten the job done. It's pretty much plain and simple, There's no explanation for it. We haven't made the pitches we needed to make, we put ourselves in the situations we've been in, bad pitches, maybe bad pitch selection at times." … "You don't get moral victories in the big leagues. There's not a column for that, much like Washington, we know we can play with (Atlanta). But at the same time, we've got areas we've got to get better at. We need to limit our mistakes. When we do that were going to get on the other end of these games and win them."
Three things: 1) The Marlins play better at home, as the 9-4 record suggests. 2) But the Marlins don't necessarily play better against the Braves. Atlanta is 90-79 all-time in South Florida. 3) With 33 career starts, the Marlins 21-year-old pitcher Jose Fernandez has five games with 10-plus strikeouts and no more than one walk.
San Francisco Giants
At Atlanta (Friday-Saturday-Sunday)
The skinny: There is the general feeling in San Francisco that the Giants need to show now what they are going to be this season. And where have we heard this before: Great pitching being wasted by poor hitting. Before arriving in Atlanta on Friday, the Giants have time to get on track with home series against Cleveland and San Diego. Perhaps Wednesday's game at Coors Field was a foreshadowing: The Giants hit six home runs during a 12-10 victory against the Rockies.
Series history: The Braves lead the overall series 408-394, dating to the 1958 season. The Giants won four of the seven games in 2013. The Braves also own the longest winning streak between the two, 12 games, from April 13, 1994 to July 29, 1995.
Last 10 games (through Thursday): The Giants were 5-5 and one game out in the standings.
State of the union: Best written by Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle before the final game of the series at Coors Field: "Now, if anyone has donned rose-colored glasses, take them off and read this: The Giants averaged just short of five runs over their first 14 games. They also have hit 21 homers in 21 games. Last year they needed 28 games to reach 21 homers. On the flip side, the Giants have scored 12 runs total in the past seven games, losing three of them 2-1 and another 3-1. There it is, the good and the bad, all wrapped into a tight 21 games, or 13 percent of the season. The point is, there's no telling which way this is going to go. But it better tilt toward the positive quickly, because a lot of really good opposing pitchers loom in May."
Three things: 1) Backup catcher Hector Sanchez had two home runs against the Rockies, including a grand slam in the 11th inning of Wednesday's game that led to a 12-10 victory. 2) Posey, the Georgia native, has struggled, hitting .229 entering the weekend. He has three hits in his last 35 at-bats. 3) Entering the weekend, the Giants were 8-1 when scoring the game's first run, 4-9 when the opponent scores first.
