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Current Series
Braves lead the series 1-0
| Mon 04/08 | WP: Paul Maholm (2 - 0) SV: Craig Kimbrel LP: Kevin Slowey (0 - 2) | 0 - 2 loss |
Atlanta Braves Tuesday, Apr 9, 2013, 7:10 PM EDT Kris Medlen vs Wade LeBlanc Partly cloudy. Winds blowing in from left field at 10-15 m.p.h. Game time temperature around 75.
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| Wed 04/10 | 7:10 PM EDT | |
The Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves will square off for the second game of their three-game set tonight. It will be Wade LeBlanc facing off against Kris Medlen.
Pitching Matchup
| Proj Win% | Proj ERA | FIP | ERA | Marlins | Braves | ERA | FIP | Proj ERA | Proj Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .424 | 4.65 | 2.23 | 3.60 | LeBlanc | Medlen | 3.60 | 4.23 | 3.40 | .568 |
The Marlins will send Wade LeBlanc to the mound after he posted a successful first start in the 2013 season. LeBlanc quietly struck out five batters and walked two in five innings versus the Washington Nationals in the final game of the first series of the season, but it was obviously not enough for the Marlins to pick up a win, as the Fish gave up four more runs out of the bullpen and only scored one in that matchup. The team is hoping the Braves and their strikeout-happy lineup fair a little worse than the Nationals did back then.
The Braves counter with Kris Medlen, who ravaged the Marlins in three starts last season. Medlen posted 20 innings and struck out 17 Marlins while walking just two. The Marlins cannot be blamed badly, however, since Medlen ran over the entire league last season. But this year, he struggled in his first start, so we will see whether he can continue to pile up success like he did last season.
Lineup
| Order | Player | Proj wOBA vs. RHP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Pierre | .301 |
| 2 | Chris Coghlan | .313 |
| 3 | Giancarlo Stanton | .402 |
| 4 | Placido Polanco | .281 |
| 5 | Greg Dobbs | .286 |
| 6 | Donovan Solano | .277 |
| 7 | Rob Brantly | .302 |
| 8 | Adeiny Hechavarria | .275 |
The Marlins are batting Placido Polanco at cleanup despite them facing a righty batter. If there is a better situation in which to hit Greg Dobbs cleanup, it would be against the righty. But of course, they do not do that.
Rob Brantly is batting .300/.333/.450 (.340 wOBA), yet the Marlins moved him to hit behind Donovan Solano (.292/.370/.333, .306 wOBA). That, of course, is a minor gripe, and their reasoning of splitting up the lefties is sound, but it seems that the Fish moved one of their better left-handed hitters all the way down the lineup in favor of guys like Polanco and Solano.
These are just a few of the problems with the Marlins and their (so far) replacement-level offense.
Bold Prediction: Braves def. Marlins 3-2