Atlanta @ Florida preview
Sun Life Stadium
Last Meeting ( Jul 4, 2010 ) Florida 3, Atlanta 2
The Atlanta Braves own the largest divisional lead in baseball. But of all the teams chasing them, the Florida Marlins are playing the best at the moment.
The streaking Marlins look to make up some ground against the Braves on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
Atlanta (56-39), which boasts the best record in the National League, has a seven-game lead over Philadelphia and leads the third-place New York Mets by 7 1/2 games in the East.
Despite the standings, those teams don’t look like the biggest threat to the Braves at the moment. New York has lost nine of its last 10 games while the Phillies have dropped six of10.
On the other hand, while Florida (47-48) may be a long shot to win the division, the Marlins are playing like a team that believes it still has a chance.
They beat Colorado 3-2 on Thursday for their fifth win in six games. Emilio Bonifacio tripled and scored the winning run on a walk-off single by Ronny Paulino.
The Marlins now have a great opportunity to make the NL East very interesting with a good series this weekend. It would help their cause if shortstop Hanley Ramirez got back on track.
Ramirez was given the day off Thursday after going 4-for-23 since the All-Star break. He could break out against Braves starter Derek Lowe (10-8, 4.39 ERA), however. He is 12-for-22 with six doubles and four RBIs vs. the veteran right-hander.
Ramirez isn’t the only member of the Marlins to have success against Lowe. The veteran right-hander has a 7.80 ERA in his last three starts against Florida. Overall, he's 6-4 with a 4.93 ERA in 17 games against the Marlins.
Lowe won for the first time in five starts on Sunday, allowing three runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings of an 11-6 victory over Milwaukee.
While the Marlins are still clinging to hope, the Braves haven’t provided many opportunities to gain ground. Atlanta has lost just one series since May 10.
Alex Gonzalez went 4-for-5 with two RBIs in support of seven strong innings from Tim Hudson and the Braves rolled to an 8-0 victory over the NL West-leading San Diego Padres on Thursday. It was the Braves’ third win in four games.
Atlanta gets its first look at rookie Alex Sanabia (1-1, 2.12), who is making his third career start. The 21-year-old allowed four hits in 5 1/3 innings against Washington on Sunday for his first career win.
The Braves have won four of the six meetings with Florida this season.