3 Things To Watch in the Marlins Series Against the Braves
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Entering their weekend series against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night, the Miami Marlins and Detroit were heading in different directions. The Tigers entered on a five-game losing streak at 4-9 and the Marlins entered at 8-5 after splitting a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds.
Detroit ended up sweeping the weekend series over Miami and it sends the Marlins to Atlanta for their first series against the Braves on a three-game losing streak.
This is an early-season match-up between two teams that had questions surrounding them entering the season, but are sitting on top of the National League East Division, with Atlanta holding a two-game lead.
Here are three things to watch as the three-game series gets underway on Monday night.
1. Can Eury Pérez Be a Stopper?
The offseason trades by the Marlins, sending Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs and Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees, put more pressure on right-hander Eury Pérez to be a No. 2 behind Sandy Alcantara at the top of the rotation. He did that in spring training and now he's facing a big early-season start in Atlanta.
Pérez is 1-1 this season so far with a 5.06 ERA in his three starts. Aside from allowing four earned runs to the New York Yankees, he has been good, allowing seven runs combined in two starts against the Colorado Rockies and Reds.
Getting the Marlins off to a good start in the series after being swept in Detroit is a must for Pérez with a long outing.
2. Can Miami's Offense Rebound Against Grant Holmes?
Since allowing three runs in five innings in his first start of the season against the Kansas City Royals, Grant Holmes has been good, allowing two earned runs in 12.2 innings in his two starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels on the road.
In three games against the Tigers, Miami was shut out on Friday night before scoring one run on Saturday and two on Sunday. Sunday was a tough assignment against two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, who struck out seven and allowed just two hits and one run, pitching into the seventh inning.
The good news? Miami avoids Chris Sale, who pitched on Sunday night against the Cleveland Guardians.
3. Can Miami Avoid a Second Straight Series Sweep?
In the overall big picture, getting swept again would bury Miami in the NL East behind Atlanta. Sure, there is a lot of time left, and baseball is a long season, but a six-game losing streak in April can send you in the wrong direction a couple of weeks into the season.
The schedule only gets tougher for the Marlins with series at home against the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals before their first trip to the West Coast. This is a sneaky big three games for Clayton McCullough's crew early in the season.
