Braves at Marlins
The Atlanta Braves enter Sunday’s series finale at the Miami Marlins looking to continue their dominance of the season series, thanks to yet another suffocating pitching performance in Saturday’s 1-0 victory. One day after Mike Soroka carried a shutout into the ninth inning, Julio Teheran fired six scoreless innings as Atlanta's starters lowered their ERA in eight games against the Marlins this season to 1.11, as the Braves beat Miami for the seventh time in eight games in 2019.
Rookie left fielder Austin Riley has attracted plenty of attention by homering nine times in his first 22 major-league games, but his hustle double in the eighth inning - just one of three Atlanta hits - led to him scoring the game’s only run as the Braves clinched their seventh series victory in their past nine attempts. The Marlins have struggled offensively in the first two games of the series, hitting just .145 with nine hits and one run in 18 innings after scoring eight runs or more in four of their previous five games. Catcher Jorge Alfaro finished with one of Miami’s four hits Saturday, and is 12-for-25 in his past seven home games as he enters Sunday batting .321 in Miami this season. Right fielder Garrett Cooper finished 1-for-2 with two walks, giving him at least one base hit in 14 of his past 17 games.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves LH Max Fried (7-3, 3.68 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Pablo Lopez (4-5, 4.52)
Fried has regressed in his past two starts since posting a 2.88 ERA through two relief stints and 10 starts, giving up nine earned runs on 18 hits in 9 2/3 innings in a loss to Washington and a no-decision at Pittsburgh. The 25-year-old has allowed nine hits in each of those two outings, giving up five runs in four innings Tuesday to the Pirates with two walks. Fried, who owns a 1.31 WHIP and a 3.78 ERA in 12 starts, has surrendered eight runs (five earned) on 12 hits in eight innings across two starts against Miami in his career - both coming during his 2017 rookie season.
Lopez has rebounded nicely since allowing 10 runs in three innings to the Mets on May 10, pitching to a 1.99 ERA across his last four starts while holding opponents to a .183 average with 20 strikeouts in 22 2/3 innings. The 23-year-old struck out seven while allowing three hits in six scoreless frames of a 16-0 victory Tuesday at Milwaukee, five days after limiting San Francisco to one run on four hits in six innings. Lopez, who is 2-1 with a 1.84 ERA and 0.78 WHIP in five home starts, is 0-3 with a 4.09 ERA in four starts against Atlanta with 20 strikeouts in 22 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. The Braves, who are 46-23 all-time at Marlins Park, have defeated Miami 21 of 27 times overall dating back to the start of 2018.
2. Marlins INF Martin Prado went 1-for-4 Saturday, and sits one homer shy of 100 for his career.
3. Atlanta has outscored the Marlins 27-6 in its five wins this season in Miami.