Divisional foes square up when the Florida Marlins head to Georgia to face the Atlanta Braves live on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. I am trying to think of how and why ESPN would schedule a game like this. We all knew the Braves would be one of the worst teams in the league and most everybody thought the Marlins wouldn’t be that much better. We were right, Atlanta has the worst record in all of baseball, but we were wrong, Florida is a surprise club and in the thick of things in the competitive National League East, trailing the first place Nationals by only four games.
ODDS ANALYSIS/INFO
Florida is in second place in the National League East, four games behind Washington. The Marlins are 41-36 on the year, 20-17 on the road and just 13-20 against foes from their own division. Florida must improve their record versus divisional foes if they plan on staying competitive and in contention for the post season.
The worst team in baseball, the Atlanta Braves are just 26-51 on the year. They actually are better on the road going 11-19 versus 11-31 at home. The Braves are 15-18 against National League East competition.
The Braves and Marlins have played six games this year, with the Braves winning five of them including a three game sweep in April.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90) pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on five hits while walking three and striking out nine in Tuesday's loss to the Tigers.
It was a bizarre start for Conley. Eight of the first nine outs he recorded Tuesday came via strikeout. By the time the fifth inning had rolled around, the left-hander had allowed just two hits and struck out nine. He looked like he may strike out another nine, but then the wheels came off.The 26-year-old wasn't able to notch another out before giving up five runs, capped by a Miguel Cabrera three-run homer. Conley’s inconsistency is a problem all young pitchers go through and the ones who figure it out, are the ones that stick around.
Matt Wisler (3-7, 4.14) pitched six quality innings in a no-decision against the Indians on Tuesday. He allowed two runs, six hits and two walks while setting a career high with nine strikeouts. Those are pretty good numbers against the red hot Cleveland team that have won 11 straight. But at the end of the day, Wisler isn’t rewarded for his strong start.
After giving up two first-inning runs, Wisler settled down and was great throughout the 98-pitch outing. After two rough showings to begin the month, the sophomore settled back into his normal routine of notching quality starts. However, Tuesday is a prime example of why Wisler’'s upside is limited, hence, the Atlanta offense, the worst in MLB. Wisler is the one bright spot for the struggling Braves.
SPOTLIGHT PLAYERS
CHRISTIAN YELICH - LF
Yelich is quietly having a solid year for Florida in 2016. He’s one of the league leaders in batting average at .314, his defense is blossoming and he’s turned into a run producer for the Marlins who desperately needed someone to step up in the absence of suspended second baseman Dee Gordon. Yelich drove in 17 runs in the month of June and looks to continue the hot bat into July.
FREDDIE FREEMAN - 1B
Freeman is another player that is red hot for the month of June. he's now hitting .348 for the month with five homers, 13 RBI and 12 runs scored. He leads the Braves with 13 home runs, a .281 batting average, runs scored with 26 and a .493 slugging percentage.
THE PICK
The Atlanta Braves are actually playing better ball as of late and despite already losing 51 games, they had a six game win streak recently. Wisler is a big league pitcher and the best on the Atlanta staff. He will shut down the Marlins sputtering offense, paving the way for a rare home win for the Braves.
MLB ODDS: Atlanta Braves 4, Florida Marlins 3
First pitch for the game between the Florida Marlins at Atlanta is scheduled for Sunday, July 3, 2016 at Turner Field. ESPN will televise the game live at 8:05 p.m., ET.
