Braves start the week three games up in the National League East
The 2020 baseball season is two-thirds complete for the Atlanta Braves. After 40 games, the Braves have a 24-16 record. They are on pace for a 36-win season.
The standings entering Monday's play in the National League East:
Atlanta (24-16) - -- .600
Philadelphia (19-17) -3.0 - .528
Miami (17-18) -4.5 - .486
New York (19-22) -5.5 - .463
Washington (14-25) -9.5 - .359
Ian Anderson (2-0, 2.25) pitches his third game of his career Monday as the Braves welcome the Miami Marlins to Truist Park for a three-game series. Monday's game starts at 1:10 p.m. ET and the Marlins will have Braves favorite Jose Urena make his first start of the season.
The Braves have not announced who will start Tuesday's game. It's likely to be someone called up from the alternate site. Atlanta will get its first look at prized prospect Sixto Sanchez Tuesday. He's 1-1, 2.37 with the Marlins since being called up. Sanchez was the big piece in the J.T. Realmuto trade with the Phillies in the 2018-19 offseason.
Tommy Milone (1-4, 5.30) goes for the Braves Wednesday night in the series finale against Marlins pitcher Pablo Lopez (3-3, 3.05).
The Braves then hit the road for the final time in the regular season. Max Fried will pitch game one of the four-game set in Washington that starts Thursday. The Braves then have three in Baltimore and then three in New York against the Mets before coming home for the final seven games of the regular season.
Several Braves players have been red hot in the last few weeks, starting with Ronald Acuna. Since returning to the lineup Friday, Acuna was 5-12 with three home runs and six walks.
That helps explain the RBI streak Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna have been on as of late. Freeman had his second grand slam in three days on Sunday and has 11 RBI in his last eight games. In his last 20 games, Freeman has a .370 batting average (27-73) with four home runs and 18 RBI.
Ozuna is having the best season of his career. He is now hitting .320 with 13 home runs and 36 RBI on the year. Ozuna is second in the NL in RBI, tied for second in home runs, third in sluggling percentage (.653), seventh in batting average (.320), and eighth in on base percentage (.409).
In Ozuna's last 19 games, he's hit .397 with nine home runs and 25 runs batted in. Ozuna is making a push to be in the MVP voting with his play the last three weeks.
Dansby Swanson was 2-3 on Sunday with two walks. He's hitting .231 (15-65) in the second spot in the batting order but with a .333 OBP. Swanson's season overall average is up to .294.