The Miami Marlins are about to start huge nine game home-stand that bring in some quality opponents to Marlins Park. The home-stand will feature the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Boston Red Sox.

The Marlins and Braves squared off just a few weeks ago in a two-game series in Atlanta. The two teams split the series. The Marlins are fresh of series wins against three division opponents, the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Mets. The Marlins are targeting the Braves as their next division opponent to take down.

Since the Marlins and Braves last played, the Braves have cooled down. The Braves offense is no longer looking like a top five offense, which it truly never was. The Braves pitching, which was supposed to be a strong point, still has been struggling, but since the Marlins and Braves last squared off, the Braves ERA has regressed towards their FIP, which means their pitching has actually gotten worse overall.

Stadium: Marlins Park

Five-year Run PF*: N/A
Five-year HR PF*: N/A
Stadium Dimensions:
Left field line—340 ft.
Left-center field—384 ft.
Center field—416 ft.
Right-center field—392 ft.
Right field line—335 ft.

*Five-year regressed park factors provided by Patriot here

Head to Head

The Marlins have to feel confident sending Anibal Sanchez to the mound, every time he is scheduled. Two starts ago, Sanchez failed to throw a quality start for the first time in his past sixteen starts, dating back to last season, however, last time out, Sanchez was able to turn things around and delivered a big start for the Marlins, against the Washington Nationals. Unfortunately, Anibal has now always had success against the Braves. For his career, Anibal has an ERA above 5 in 86 career innings against the Braves. The right hander will look for better results as he takes the mound against the Braves in a new home venue. Anibal was 1-4 with a 7.11 ERA in seven matchups at the Marlins’ old stadium. Martin Prado is 12-for-27 in his career off of Anibal Sanchez, so retiring Prado will be the key to another quality start for Anibal tonight.

Opposing Sanchez will be a pitcher that has owned the Marlins, in Tim Hudson. The right-hander has struggled in each of his last two outings overall, going 0-1 with an 8.76 ERA while surrendering 14 hits in 12 1-3 innings. With the way the Marlins have been hitting of late, they have a good chance to turn their fortunes against Hudson around on Tuesday evening. Chris Coghlan has had the most success against Hudson of all the Marlins, as he is 8-for-14 career against the Braves ace.

Marlins Lineup

Not many Marlins hitters have had much success in their careers off of Tim Hudson, as he has always pitched well against the Marlins. The hope for the Marlins is that his sinker will have issues sinking and stay up. This could lead to a big night for the Marlins offensively. If the Marlins bats can awake against Hudson, Anibal will have some more cushion to work with against a team he has struggled against.

Bold Prediction:

The Marlins offense continues its hot hitting and Tim Hudson continues to struggle, as the Marlins offense scores six earned runs over four innings off of the right hander. Hudson will be forced to exit the game early and the Marlins will tack on a few more runs against the Braves bullpen. Anibal Sanchez will give the Marlins his tenth quality start of the season, going seven innings for the eight time this season, allowing just two earned runs, while striking out ten Braves hitter, including Dan Uggla three times. The Marlins will win this ballgame 9-2.