Marlins set to face Braves in latest homestand

The Miami Marlins come home having won their two road series to face the Atlanta Braves starting Friday night at Marlins Park.

Now things get a little more interesting for the Miami Marlins. Fresh off a successful road trip where they won a series against the San Diego Padres and then in Milwaukee against the Brewers, can the hot-hitting Marlins continue to show improvement at the plate against the Atlanta Braves.

The three-game series begins tonight at home. Jose Urena, who has found consistency on the mound will face Mike Soroka.

Per Kris Willis of Talking Chop, “The Marlins enter the series with a 23-36 record but have won seven of 10 and just won back-to-back series in San Diego and in Milwaukee. The Brewers snapped the Marlins’ four-game winning streak with a 5-1 win on Thursday.”

Team manager Don Mattingly has pushed all the right buttons lately and played his best game of chess over the past 19 games, where Miami is a solid 13-6. If not for the first 40 games of the season, you might think this cast of youngsters mixed with veteran balance could contend for a playoff berth.

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That’s still a few years away as the Marlins try to discover winning over a long haul, not just a short stanza.

Urena has won his last three games after starting the season 1-6. The history between the right-hander and the Braves as we well know is harried at best. The Braves want to continue to gain momentum on their road trip.

“The Braves got their road trip off on a good note as they exploded for 10 unanswered runs to knock off the Pirates 12-5 in Tuesday’s opener,” Willis added. “That was the high note of the series for Atlanta as Kevin Gausman struggled for the second straight start in a 7-4 loss on Wednesday.”

Can the consistency continue? Will the lineup find a way to get to Soroka, who has proven to be one of the best young pitchers in baseball this season? Miami fell 5-1 to Milwaukee last night after winning the first two games of the series with the Brewers.

“Caleb Smith started and had three runs pinned on him before the Miami Marlins got their first turn at the plate,” Kevin Kraczkowski of Marlin Maniac wrote. “Mike Moustakas (17) and Christian Yelich (23) both went deep in the frame, and Smith only lasted five innings in total. Smith surrendered a total of four runs on six hits and a pair of walks, while striking out two batters. He finished the game with a 26 GameScore, his lowest mark of the 2019 season.”

The Marlins bats have exploded in June, having scored 43 runs in their five games played this month.