Marlins vs. Braves: Start time, how to watch, game thread and Fish Picks—September 9, 2020

Welcome to Wednesday’s Marlins (19-18) vs. Braves (24-18) game thread. Incredibly, the Fish have a chance to sweep the reigning NL East champs in their own building. Major League Baseball is celebrating Roberto Clemente Day.

Fish Picks is BACK and better than ever! Our free-to-play daily prop bets contest is open to all fans. Courtesy of a new Fish Stripes partnership with Fantom Drip, weekly points leaders will win their choice of a Marlins face covering (five different varieties available) or the exclusive Fish Stripes design. The 2020 full-season points leader gets their pick of two new Marlins-themed t-shirts.

Marlings t-shirt

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The Fish Picks leaderboard will update daily to let you know where you stand.

Marlins Lineup

1. SS Miguel Rojas
2. CF Starling Marte
3. DH Jesús Aguilar
4. 3B Brian Anderson
5. 1B Garrett Cooper
6. LF Lewis Brinson
7. RF Monte Harrison
8. C Jorge Alfaro
9. 2B Jazz Chisholm

P Pablo López (3.05 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 23.6 K%, 31.6 Hard Hit% in 38.1 IP)

Baseball Savant

Notes: Monte’s first start since Aug. 18. If the game’s still in doubt during the later innings and the Braves call in a right-hander from their bullpen, Matt Joyce will be standing by to pinch hit...Encouraging to see Cooper back in the field after a few days of being limited by a nagging quad issue...Michael Simione of RotoGraphs explains how Pablo is masterfully alternating between his changeup and sinker this season, leaving opponents unable to discern which is which out of his hand...The Marlins haven’t finished a season with a winning record on the road since 2009. A victory here would end that drought.

Braves Lineup

1. RF Ronald Acuña Jr.
2. 1B Freddie Freeman
3. DH Marcell Ozuna
4. C Travis d’Arnaud
5. SS Dansby Swanson
6. 3B Austin Riley
7. LF Adam Duvall
8. 2B Ozzie Albies
9. CF Ender Inciarte

P Tommy Milone (5.30 ERA, 4.20 FIP, 22.4 K%, 34.4 Hard Hit% in 35.2 IP)

Baseball Savant

Notes: Albies sputtered out of the starting gate this season (.159/.196/.273, 19 wRC+ in 46 PA) before being sidelined by a right wrist injury. The Fish will hope that he’s rusty from the month-long hiatus, because at full strength, the 23-year-old is among the most well-rounded second basemen on the planet...Historically, Milone does not have significant platoon splits, but it’s been a different story in 2020 (.938 OPS allowed vs. RHB, .716 OPS vs. LHP). Miami is banking on the recent trend continuing by rolling out a predominantly right-handed lineup.

How to watch/listen/follow

The first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET. Watch on FOX Sports Florida or MLB.TV or listen on 940 WINZ. Marlins radio broadcasters will remain in South Florida, calling the game remotely.

Fish Picks

Please comment below or tweet to @fishstripes with your picks for the following props. The contest locks at first pitch.

1. Which team gets the first hit? (Marlins/Braves)
2. Over/Under 1.5 Marlins home runs? (Over/Under)
3. Over/Under 2.5 runs allowed by Pablo López? (Over/Under)
4. Will Matt Joyce make an appearance? (Yes/No)
5. Who wins? (Marlins/Braves)