Fernandez, Marlins Open Series Against Last Place Braves
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/SportsDirect) – A pair of teams who have been rolling of late will lock horns at Marlins Park this week.
Even in the midst of a season-best five-game winning streak, the Atlanta Braves enter Tuesday's series opener at the Miami Marlins dealing with bad news.
The team with baseball's worst record lost rookie sparkplug Mallex Smith – fifth in the National League with 14 stolen bases – in Sunday's victory at the Mets, a pitch fracturing his left thumb and sidelining him indefinitely.
Atlanta, which has won seven of its past 11 and is 14-18 under interim manager Brian Snitker, got a one-hit shutout from Julio Teheran Sunday; in their past six games, Braves' starters have compiled a 2.68 ERA while allowing 12 runs on 22 hits with eight walks and 36 strikeouts.
Miami won the first three games of a 10-game homestand before falling to the Rockies on Monday, spoiling a two-homer performance from center fielder Marcell Ozuna.
Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton snapped a 16-game homerless streak with a first-inning blast Monday, going 2-for-4 to improve to 8-for-15 on the homestand.
Miami is one of few teams to struggle with the Braves this season, losing five of six matchups against Atlanta.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), FSN Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Bud Norris (2-7, 4.81 ERA) vs. Marlins RH Jose Fernandez (9-3, 2.57)
Norris returned from his bullpen banishment when injures opened a couple of spots in the Atlanta rotation, and the 31-year-old has responded with a 2.65 ERA and a .169 opponents' batting average in three starts.
He held Cincinnati to three runs on three hits with seven strikeouts in five innings Wednesday, after back-to-back one-run outings in his previous two starts.
Norris' lone victory in five April starts came April 16 at Miami, giving up four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings.
Fernandez has shown no ill effects after missing parts of 2014-15 with Tommy John surgery, striking out a major-league leading 13.2 hitters per nine innings.
His eight-start winning streak ended June 11 against Arizona, with Fernandez giving up four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts in six innings, and was skipped in the latest turn through Miami's rotation as the Marlins aim to keep him around 180 innings this season.
Fernandez is 4-1 with a 2.54 ERA in six career starts against the Braves.
WALK-OFFS
- Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman won NL player of the week honors after batting .548 with three homers, five doubles, eight RBIs and a pair of four-hit games (including his first career cycle).
- Ozuna is enjoying an All-Star caliber season, hitting .322 with 15 homers (three in the past two games) and 43 RBIs.
- Miami OF Ichiro Suzuki went hitless with two walks Monday; he enters the series 20 hits shy of 3,000 for his major-league career.
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