PREVIEW: Marlins at Braves (Aug. 21, 2019)
ATLANTA -- With a three-game winning streak in tow, the Braves continue their series against Miami in a Wednesday night showdown at Sun Trust Park.
Atlanta fell behind 1-0 to the Marlins in Game 1 of the series Tuesday night but rallied with five unanswered runs, including four driven in by Freddie Freeman, to win 5-1 behind a strong start from Dallas Keuchel and a trio of solid bullpen performances.
The Braves turn to right-hander Julio Teheran, who will start his 27th game of the season.
Teheran, who is 7-8 with a 3.71 ERA this season, will look to rebound from his last start on Aug. 15 against the Mets that saw him last just 1.1 innings while allowing eight hits and six runs, all earned.
Miami southpaw Caleb Smith will oppose Teheran. Smith is 8-6 with a 3.63 ERA this season.
Smith worked five innings of one-hit, one-run ball against the Dodgers in his last start on Aug. 15. Smith also saw the Braves earlier this month and was touched up for 10 hits and six earned runs in 4.2 innings.
Atlanta and Miami wrap up the season series Thursday in Atlanta with Mike Soroka scheduled to duel Sandy Alcantara.
NEWS AND NOTES FROM GAME 1:
* Brian McCann left Tuesday's game with knee soreness. He was relieved by Tyler Flowers, who went on to finish 0-3 with a strikeout and left two on base.
* Atlanta's relief core continued its recent good work with Luke Jackson, Shane Greene and Chris Martin working three shutout innings and combining to allow just two hits while striking out six.
* Tempers flared and warnings were issued Tuesday night when Ronald Acuna, Jr. was hit with the first pitch of the game from Miami starter Elieser Hernandez. That plunk came just over a year since Jose Urena hit Acuna following a recent run of success against the Fish last season.
* Following Acuna's HBP, Braves skipper Brian Snitker was ejected after standing up for his young star. This, of course, came just two days after Snitker pulled Acuna for not hustling on a hit off the wall in the STP outfield.
* While the Braves took care of business against the Fish, the rest of the NL East went 2-1 with Philadelphia and New York winning their games and Washington falling to Pittsburgh. With Atlanta's win, its division lead over Washington is back up to six games entering play Wednesday.
* Freeman didn't stay down for long. After going 0-12 against Los Angeles, Freeman continued to hammer Marlins pitching to the tune of a 3-4 night with four RBIs and three runs scored. He passed the 100-RBI mark on the season.
* Recent waiver additions Adeiny Hechavarria and Billy Hamilton saw action, especially in the late innings, Tuesday night. Hechavarria was charged with an error on what would have been a double play for Keuchel but rebounded by sprawling out behind second base and throwing to first from the ground to rob Neil Walker of a hit on a scalded ball for the last out of the game. Hamilton pinch-hit and stayed in the game to play center field in the late innings. He went 0-2 but showed off his wheels by flying down the first base line on a routine groundout.
* The Braves improved to 12-4 this season against Miami.
* Keuchel struck out seven and earned his 1,000th career strikeout in the process.
* Atlanta is 5-2 on its current nine-game homestand. The team hasn't lost a series since losing both games of a two-game set with Kansas City on July 23-24. Since then, the Braves have series wins over Philadelphia, Washington, Minnesota, New York and Los Angeles and split series against Cincinnati and Miami.
Atlanta fell behind 1-0 to the Marlins in Game 1 of the series Tuesday night but rallied with five unanswered runs, including four driven in by Freddie Freeman, to win 5-1 behind a strong start from Dallas Keuchel and a trio of solid bullpen performances.
The Braves turn to right-hander Julio Teheran, who will start his 27th game of the season.
Teheran, who is 7-8 with a 3.71 ERA this season, will look to rebound from his last start on Aug. 15 against the Mets that saw him last just 1.1 innings while allowing eight hits and six runs, all earned.
Miami southpaw Caleb Smith will oppose Teheran. Smith is 8-6 with a 3.63 ERA this season.
Smith worked five innings of one-hit, one-run ball against the Dodgers in his last start on Aug. 15. Smith also saw the Braves earlier this month and was touched up for 10 hits and six earned runs in 4.2 innings.
Atlanta and Miami wrap up the season series Thursday in Atlanta with Mike Soroka scheduled to duel Sandy Alcantara.
NEWS AND NOTES FROM GAME 1:
* Brian McCann left Tuesday's game with knee soreness. He was relieved by Tyler Flowers, who went on to finish 0-3 with a strikeout and left two on base.
* Atlanta's relief core continued its recent good work with Luke Jackson, Shane Greene and Chris Martin working three shutout innings and combining to allow just two hits while striking out six.
* Tempers flared and warnings were issued Tuesday night when Ronald Acuna, Jr. was hit with the first pitch of the game from Miami starter Elieser Hernandez. That plunk came just over a year since Jose Urena hit Acuna following a recent run of success against the Fish last season.
* Following Acuna's HBP, Braves skipper Brian Snitker was ejected after standing up for his young star. This, of course, came just two days after Snitker pulled Acuna for not hustling on a hit off the wall in the STP outfield.
* While the Braves took care of business against the Fish, the rest of the NL East went 2-1 with Philadelphia and New York winning their games and Washington falling to Pittsburgh. With Atlanta's win, its division lead over Washington is back up to six games entering play Wednesday.
* Freeman didn't stay down for long. After going 0-12 against Los Angeles, Freeman continued to hammer Marlins pitching to the tune of a 3-4 night with four RBIs and three runs scored. He passed the 100-RBI mark on the season.
* Recent waiver additions Adeiny Hechavarria and Billy Hamilton saw action, especially in the late innings, Tuesday night. Hechavarria was charged with an error on what would have been a double play for Keuchel but rebounded by sprawling out behind second base and throwing to first from the ground to rob Neil Walker of a hit on a scalded ball for the last out of the game. Hamilton pinch-hit and stayed in the game to play center field in the late innings. He went 0-2 but showed off his wheels by flying down the first base line on a routine groundout.
* The Braves improved to 12-4 this season against Miami.
* Keuchel struck out seven and earned his 1,000th career strikeout in the process.
* Atlanta is 5-2 on its current nine-game homestand. The team hasn't lost a series since losing both games of a two-game set with Kansas City on July 23-24. Since then, the Braves have series wins over Philadelphia, Washington, Minnesota, New York and Los Angeles and split series against Cincinnati and Miami.
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