Braves at Marlins
Josh Donaldson sat out three games for precautionary reasons with a sore right calf, but he made up for lost time by putting the Atlanta Braves in position to win their weekend series at the Miami Marlins on Saturday. Donaldson went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs in Friday’s opener, giving the third baseman at least one extra base hit in 12 of his past 21 games - seven of his past 11 hits have been for extra bases - as Atlanta won for the fourth time in six games.
Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman continued his career onslaught against Miami pitching with a first-inning homer, and enters Saturday hitting .298 with 26 homers and 81 RBIs in 147 career games against the Marlins. Miami remains the only team in the majors who have not reached double figures in victories, falling for the fifth time in six games to drop its record to 9-22. Catcher Jorge Alfaro finished 2-for-3 and has reached base in nine consecutive games, hitting .303 with two homers, three RBIs, three walks while getting hit by a pitch two other times in that stretch. Right fielder Brian Anderson walked in three at-bats to extend his streak of reaching base in home games to 18 in a row, and in that stretch he is hitting .284 with 12 walks.
TV: 6:10 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Soroka (2-1, 1.62 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Trevor Richards (0-4, 4.64)
The 21-year-old Soroka continues to impress, allowing just one earned run in each of his first three starts of the season. He has won his past two starts, holding San Diego to four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts in six innings Monday, five days after fanning seven with five hits surrendered in 5 2/3 innings to beat Cincinnati. Soroka, who opened his season with a 1-0 loss April 18 against Arizona, gave up five runs (one earned) on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings of a no-decision in his one and only start against the Marlins last season.
Richards has dropped his past three starts, allowing five earned runs in two of them and getting through five innings just once. The 25-year-old gave up six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in four innings Saturday in a 12-9 loss at Philadelphia, six days after matching a season high with seven strikeouts in a quality start during a loss to Washington. Richards, who has walked 18 hitters in 33 innings, gave up five runs on 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings in his lone career game against Atlanta.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Marlins have yet to hit a triple through 31 games, a franchise record for longest stretch to start a season without one.
2. Atlanta has beaten Miami 17 times in the past 23 meetings dating to last season.
3. Miami reinstated RHP Austin Brice (gastroenteritis) from the injured list and optioned LHP Jarlin Garcia to Triple-A New Orleans.