Series preview: at Miami Marlins
When (TV): 7:10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday (SPSO)
Radio: 680, 93.7, 106.7
Probable starting pitchers:
Tuesday: Braves LH Alex Wood (2-3, 1.54 ERA) vs. RH Jose Fernandez (3-1, 1.99 ERA)
Wednesday: Braves RH Aaron Harang (3-1, 0.85) vs. RH Nathan Eovaldi (1-1, 2.87)
Thursday: Braves RH Ervin Santana (3-0, 1.95) vs. RH Henderson Alvarez (1-2, 2.73)
About the Braves:
Batting: Evan Gattis hit .370 (17-for-46) with seven doubles, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 13 games against the Marlins. He drove in game-winning runs in both of the Braves' victories in last week's series against the Marlins, including a walk-off two-run homer. Justin Upton is hitting .488 (20-for-41) with six home runs and 12 RBIs at Turner Field this season and .191 (9-for-47) with one home run and four RBIs in 12 road games.
Pitching: Wood gets a rematch with Fernandez just a week after losing to him 1-0 in a pitching gem. Wood struck out a career-high 11 batters that night while pitching eight innings for the second straight start. Both will be pitching on six days' rest. Wood has taken back-to-back 1-0 losses, including April 17 in Philadelphia against A.J. Burnett, proving to be the hard-luck loser of the staff at 2-3.
Miscellaneous: The Braves won eight of 10 games they played last season at Marlins Park and are 15-4 there overall since it opened in 2012.
About the Marlins:
Batting: The Marlins are batting .293 while averaging 5.8 runs per game at home this season, compared to hitting .215 and averaging 2.67 runs on the road. Giancarlo Stanton's average dropped 36 points to .348 while he went 4-for-24 over the team's past road trip. He did drive in three runs to give him a National League-leading 27 RBIs.
Pitching: Fernandez shut out the Braves for eight innings on three hits — all singles — while matching his career-high in strikeouts with 14 last Tuesday in Atlanta. He threw 77 of his 109 pitches for strikes and did not walk a batter. Fernandez is particularly tough at home, where he is 11-0 with a 1.07 ERA in 18 starts at Marlins Park.
Miscellaneous: The Marlins are 9-4 at home this season compared to 2-10 on the road. Rafael Furcal's minor league rehab assignment has been delayed by a setback with a groin injury. Furcal, who signed a one-year $3.5 million contract to be the Marlins' leadoff hitter, has been nursing a hamstring injury since spring training.
Carroll Rogers
