Marlins-Braves Preview
After helping the Miami Marlins pick up a couple of wins without two top hitters, Marcell Ozuna received little assistance in this series opener. Now Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich might be able to provide a spark if they're able to return to the starting lineup Saturday when the visiting Marlins try to avoid losing their fifth consecutive meeting with the NL-worst Atlanta Braves. Stanton, who has a team-high 12 home runs for Miami (25-23), has missed three games due to soreness in his right side. Manager Don Mattingly, though, said Friday the three-time All-Star "felt pretty good" while taking swings in the batting cage. Stanton has only hit .216 with two homers in 37 career games at Turner Field. Yelich, who has a .320 average, missed his seventh straight start because of back spasms. The left fielder, though, walked as a pinch hitter in Friday's 4-2 defeat. Ozuna had two hits and two RBIs in Wednesday's 4-3 win at Tampa Bay before adding two more hits in Thursday's 9-1 victory. He went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI on Friday, but the rest of the club managed five hits. The outfielder has reached safely in 34 straight games - the team's longest streak since Logan Morrison reached in that many in 2011 - and is batting .514 over a nine-game hitting streak. "He's settled in. He's gotten himself (swinging) at strikes, and he's talented," Mattingly told the league's official website. "So, it's like he's capable of this. It's not like, 'Oh, he's hot.' I think this is something he can do regularly, but it takes concentration." Miami has lost all four games this year against the light-hitting Braves (13-34) as its starters have posted a 5.85 ERA. Wei-Yin Chen (3-2, 4.61 ERA) is the only one who provided a quality start, giving up two runs and four hits in 6 1-3 innings of a 6-3 loss April 15. Erick Aybar didn't play that day but has a home run and two doubles in seven at-bats against him. Chen has had success by keeping the ball down in the zone but seemed to struggle with that approach Monday. The left-hander allowed five runs, three walks and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings in a 7-6 win over the Rays. Jeff Francoeur had four hits Friday, and Nick Markakis went 2 for 4 with a go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning as he broke out of a 1-for-24 slump. "With two strikes I was just looking to protect and put the barrel of the bat on the ball,'' said Markakis, who is batting .355 over an eight-game hitting streak versus Miami. "Wherever it ends up, it ends up.'' Atlanta ranks last in baseball with 3.1 runs per game but hopes to provide some support for rookie Aaron Blair (0-3, 7.59). The right-hander is expected to be recalled to make his first big-league start since allowing nine runs and nine hits over 1 1/3 innings in a 12-9 loss at Pittsburgh on May 17. Blair became the first Braves pitcher and the 20th in major league history to allow at least nine earned runs and nine hits while completing 1 1/3 or fewer innings. The Braves are chasing only their second set of back-to-back victories since April 19. |