Braves at Marlins
J.T. Realmuto missed the first 16 games of the season with a lower back injury, but the Miami Marlins catcher continues making up for lost time as his team hosts the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. Realmuto, one of the few holdovers left from Miami’s offseason roster purge, fell a triple short of the cycle and finished 3-for-5 to raise his average to .325 in Friday’s 6-3 victory, helping the Marlins snap a four-game losing streak and end Atlanta’s eight-game road winning streak.
Realmuto has hits in 16 of his past 18 games and is batting .329 in that stretch with three doubles, four homers and six RBIs, while second baseman Derek Dietrich, along with shortstop Miguel Rojas, added three hits apiece Friday as Miami matched its season high with 14 hits. Atlanta’s road streak came to an end, but second baseman Ozzie Albies extended his hitting streak to eight games and belted his 12th homer of the season - his second in two nights off Miami pitching. Albies is hitting .306 with three homers during his streak, but the Braves - who averaged 10.1 hits during their road winning streak - were held to only five hits Friday. Atlanta starting pitchers had not allowed an earned run in their past five road games, but Brandon McCarthy was roughed up for six runs on 11 hits in five innings.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS South (Atlanta), FS Florida (Miami)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Braves RH Mike Soroka (1-1, 4.50 ERA) vs. Marlins LH Jarlin Garcia (1-1, 2.68)
Soroka ran into some bad luck in his second major-league start Sunday against San Francisco, giving up four runs on seven hits with three walks in four innings of a 4-3 loss. The 20-year-old, one of the Braves prized pitching prospects, dazzled the New York Mets in his big-league debut May 1, allowing one run on six hits with no walks over six innings. The Braves have indicated Soroka will remain in the rotation, even after the injured Anibal Sanchez (hamstring) returns to action.
Garcia breathed life into the Miami rotation after being moved from the bullpen in early April, posting a 0.78 ERA while allowing only two runs over 23 innings across his first four starts. He struggled in his last outing Monday at the Chicago Cubs, giving up three homers in four innings en route to surrendering seven runs on six hits. The 25-year-old, who made all 68 of his appearances out of the bullpen as a rookie in 2017, has given up three runs on seven hits over 7 1/3 innings in 10 appearances against Atlanta.
WALK-OFFS
1. Atlanta RF Nick Markakis finished 2-for-4 Friday, giving him 51 hits through 37 games and raising his batting average to .345.
2. Miami RHP Brad Ziegler earned his 100th career save with a scoreless ninth inning Friday, his eighth in nine opportunities all-time against Atlanta.
3. Marlins OF Cameron Maybin collected his eighth double of the season in his 100th at-bat, tying RF Brian Anderson for the team lead in two-base hits.