Straily and Fish shutout the Braves 2-0.

Dan Straily had his most successful start of the season against Atlanta. He fired off seven innings of shutout ball. Straily compiled six strike outs while walking three and giving up three hits. Control was his best friend, as he was hitting all the spots Realmuto set up. He switched up his pitches well and kept the hot Braves offense guessing.

It was not all smooth sailing for Straily though, this was especially clear in the fourth inning. The second time through the lineup started to give him trouble. This started with a walk to Freddie Freeman. Nick Markakis would follow this up with a double, sending Freeman to third. Control was the issue here, Straily was not coming close to where Realmuto wanted the pitch. This would lead to a mound visit between the two.

Tyler Flowers was up next and he hit a fly ball between center and right field. Starlin Castro was tracking the ball from the start and caught it back in the outfield. Castro showed tremendous range on the play. Lewis Brinson could not find the ball and Brian Anderson had fell right before Castro caught the ball. It was a veteran play that helped save a run from scoring.

Straily was not out of the jam yet. With one out Jose Bautista was up next, with runners in scoring position. Straily was able to get a big strike out, moving himself one out closer to ending the inning. The last batter of the inning was Johan Camargo and he sharply hit out to Brinson in center.

Straily would come out after the seventh. Kyle Barraclough and Brad Ziegler would take the eighth and the ninth inning respectively. They did a solid job of shutting down the Braves. It was nice for the Marlins to not have to rely heavy on the bullpen in this game. If the Miami starters could go this long most games, the Fish would be much better off.

Backing up Straily’s efforts on the mound was a strong defensive night by the Fish. There was the tremendous catch by Castro in the fourth to keep runs off the board. The second inning also had a fantastic play by Brian Anderson in right field. Camargo was up with two outs and hit what would usually be a routine double. Anderson chasing right, towards the ball reached out and cut it off before it reached the wall. Anderson would then turn and make a strong throw towards second base. After being called safe, a replay would show Camargo coming off the base while Rojas kept the tag on. This big out ended the inning for Straily and the Fish.

The Marlins overall had six hits in the game. The top of the batting order were the ones producing for the Fish. The Marlins were able to string there hits back to back to produce two runs in the sixth inning. After a Martín Prado single, Realmuto would hit a triple scoring Prado. Castro would then double, scoring in Realmuto. Hitting, Pitching, and defense all came together in this game for the Fish.

José Ureña will take on Sean Newcomb at 7:10pm.

Fangraphs

Swordfish: Dan Straily (.441 WPA)

Flounder: Tyler Flower (-.225)

Play of the Game: J.T. Realmuto’s triple.

Attendance: 27,705

Please leave any Icthy picks in the comments below. Remember, we just introduced a new grand prize for the contest this season! Here are the updated 2018 standings entering this weekend.

Matchup Summary:

The Marlins last saw the Braves eight days ago. They had a four games series which was won by Atlanta 3-1. The Marlins went on to face the Dodgers winning that series 2-1. The Braves had the same results as Miami but against the Chicago Cubs.

The Marlins look to settle down and try to find a groove. There have been some big changes recently within the pitching department. Jarlin García was put into the bullpen, to preserve his innings, since he is on a limit. Elieser Hernández was called up to fill in this hole in the rotation. One piece of news that was a long time coming was Junichi Tazawa being designated for assignment by the Marlins yesterday. His Marlins career concludes as a huge disappointment.

Dan Straily will look to continue his momentum opposing Matt Wisler, who’s filling in for Sean Newcomb.

Will Miami be able to bring the bats tonight? Will their defense/bullpen keep strong? Will Lewis Brinson have a big game? Find out at 7:35pm.

Thread Question: Marlins have six road games coming up, three with the Braves and three with the Mets. What will their record be between these two series?