BOSTON RED SOX
At Turner Field (Monday-Tuesday); At Fenway Park (Wednesday-Thursday)
The skinny: The Red Sox have lost seven in a row and the typical New England angst is caught in the collective throat of Red Sox Nation. The Sox were 5-9 by April 15 and are 15-17 since.
Series history: Since 1997, the Braves lead 28-26 but have lost 10 of the past 15 meetings.
Last 10 games (through Thursday): 2-8 and have lost seven in a row entering Friday.
State of the union: Despite the team's overall slide, the big concern for now: What's wrong with pitcher Clay Buchholz? Wrote Gordon Edes of ESPN: "Buchholz is too experienced a pitcher, Juan Nieves too accomplished a pitching coach, and (manager John) Farrell too in tune with what makes a pitcher tick for them not to have made the necessary corrections by now. You don't go from being among the most dominant pitchers in baseball at this time a year ago to being a pitching piñata, putting up numbers that rank among the worst in baseball, without there being something more involved than adjusting an arm slot, a grip, a stride or a release point."
Three things: 1) Former Braves catcher David Ross, who has been the receiver for Jon Lester, took a seat Thursday because of a .167 batting average and the need for more hitting in the lineup; 2) Don't miss seeing Xander Bogaerts, 21, at shortstop but likely to change positions soon. He's batting .282 but has gone 9-for-18 entering the weekend. He has struggled in the field but is a rising star; 3) Stephen Drew, who took a chance in free agency and didn't get an offer he wanted, signed a pro-rated contract of $10 million to return to the Red Sox and when ready will return to shortstop with Bogaerts moving to third.
MIAMI MARLINS
At Marlins Park (Friday-Sunday)
The skinny: The Marlins continue to surprise the entirety of Major League Baseball, rallying to win Thursday after blowing a 3-0 lead. They are 19-6 at home, 25-23 overall, and have won in walk-off fashion in four of their past six home games. They are tied with the Pittsburgh Pirates with five walk-off victories to lead the majors.
Series history: Since 1993, the Braves lead 201-144, but are 3-5 in the past eight and lost all three in an earlier visit this season to Miami.
Last 10 games (through Thursday): 5-5 and have won two in a row.
State of the union: The Marlins' ability now to compete in the NL East have been damaged with the loss of staff ace Jose Fernandez to a torn elbow ligament in early May.
Three things: 1) The Marlins have transferred former Braves infielder Rafael Furcal (groin) to the 60-day disabled list retroactive to March 21; 2) Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton has finally turned the corner the way the Braves have hoped that Jason Heyward would. Stanton is batting .309 with 12 home runs and 45 RBIs and has to be considered an early NL MVP contender; 3) The Marlins have had losing streaks of eight and five games but are 25-10 in the rest of their games.
