ATLANTA BRAVES NOTES:
vs. Lefties
Atlanta hit six home runs last night, and all six came against left-handed pitchers. The Braves’ 21 home runs off of left-handers this season are four more than any other team in baseball. Atlanta is batting .299/.365/.532 against lefties as a team this season, and its .365 on-base, .532 slugging and .898 OPS are all tops in the National League. The Braves have gone 8-3 against lefthanded starters this season, the best record in the N.L. and second best in baseball. LH Jesús Luzardo starts for Miami today
TODAY’S GAME: The Braves and Marlins today conclude a three-game series in what is the seventh of 13 games between the teams this season…The two met just seven days ago in Atlanta, and are in a stretch of seven games in 11 days against each other.
• The Braves beat the Marlins last night, 14-6, to win the first two games of the series…Atlanta is 5-1 against Miami this season.
• Atlanta went 13-6 against Miami last season, including wins in nine of their final 11 games between the clubs…The Braves beat Miami, 2-1, on October 4 in the penultimate game of the season to clinch the NL East division title.
• Atlanta has won the season set against Miami for eight consecutive years, dating to 2015…Moreover, the Braves have won double-digit games over the Marlins in 17 of the last 19 full seasons…They went 9-10 in 2014 and 8-10 in 2009…Since 2015, the Braves are 94-51 (.648) against Miami.
• Atlanta is 304-202 (.601) all-time against the Marlins franchise since it was founded in 1993… The Braves’ 304 wins versus Miami since the
start of 1993 are its most against any one team in baseball…Per Elias, since 1993, only one MLB club has beaten another club more times than Atlanta has beaten Miami…The New York Yankees have beaten the Baltimore Orioles 310 times since that year.
• LH Dylan Dodd was recalled this afternoon and will make his third career start…He has never faced Miami…The 6-foot-2, 220-pound left-hander made his major league debut earlier this season at St. Louis, and went 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA (8 ER/9.1 IP) through two starts before being optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.
• LH Jesús Luzardo has made four career starts against Atlanta, going 2-2 with a 4.26 ERA (9 ER/19.0 IP)…In three starts versus the Braves last season, he pitched to a 2.81 ERA and compiled a 2-1 record, allowing just five runs over 16.0 innings…The 6-foot-0, 218-pound native of Lima, Peru has made six starts for Miami this season, going 2-1 with a 3.48 ERA (13 ER/33.2 IP).
WIN: Atlanta scored a season-most 14 runs and hit a season-high six homers last night to beat Miami, 14-6… Atlanta improved to 21-10 (.677) with the win, the best record in the National League and the second-best mark in baseball.
• Atlanta’s 14 runs were its most since also scoring 14 at Pittsburgh on August 24 of last season, and its 18 total hits were the most since also collecting 18 on June 2 of last year at Colorado.
• The Braves scored seven runs in the second inning, their most in a single frame this year and the most since scoring seven times in the eighth inning of that August 24 game at Pittsburgh last year.
• Atlanta improved to 9-3 in intra-division games these season, the best record in the N.L. East
HOME RUNS: Five Atlanta batters combined for six home runs last night, the most in a game for the Braves since hitting seven on May 21, 2021, vs. Pittsburgh… The Braves’ 52 homers on the season are third most in the majors, trailing just the Rays (64) and Dodgers (54).
• Marcell Ozuna collected the 15th multi-homer game of his career, while Michael Harris II, Ronald Acuña Jr, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies all went deep for Atlanta.
• Atlanta improved to 20-3 (.870) this season when homering at least once, the best such record in baseball…When hitting multiple homers, Atlanta’s 11-1 (.917) record trails just Pittsburgh (13-0) for best in the majors.
• Conversely, the Braves are just 1-7 (.125) when they do not homer this year…Only Detroit, at 1-9 (.100), has been worse.
• Eighty-four of Atlanta’s 170 runs (49.4%) on the season have come via home run, the third-highest percentage in the majors…Only the Giants (58.5%) and Dodgers (51.1%) are getting a higher percentage of their runs via homer.
ALBIES EXTRA BASES: Ozzie Albies collected two doubles and a home run last night, tying his career high with three extra-base hits…Six of his last seven hits have gone for extra bases.
• Since his major league debut on August 1, 2017, Albies’ 292 extra-base hits are 25th most in the majors, and third most among second basemen in baseball…Only Marcus Semien (333) and Trevor Story (321) have more.
• In his last 17 games dating to April 15, Albies is batting .328/.386/.781 with seven homers and a majors-most 20 RBI.
• Albies’ nine homers on the season are most on the club and tie for fifth in the majors, and he leads all second basemen in homers (9), RBI (26), extra-base hits (16) and total bases (68).
ACUÑA JR. HOMERS: Ronald Acuña Jr. connected on his sixth home run of the season last night, a 461-foot shot to center…The homer was his longest of the season, and the seventh longest of his career.
• After connecting on just three home runs in his first 24 games of the season, Acuña Jr. has three in his last seven games dating to April 26, including a 448-foot homer three days ago at New York.
• Dating to his debut season in 2018, Acuña Jr. has 26 home runs of at least 440 feet in the regular season and playoffs, two more than any other player in baseball.
• Four other players tie for second with 24 such home runs since 2018, including Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees, and Trevor Story and C.J. Cron, who both played home games at Colorado’s Coors Field for a portion of that time period.
MIAMI MARLINS NOTES:
MARLINS MINUTE
The Marlins today play the final game of three-game series against the Braves. Wraps up their six-game homestand which began with a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs before a day off on Monday. Will finish their season series vs. the Cubs with a three-game set in Chicago this weekend from May 5-7 before heading to Arizona for three against the D-Backs from May 8-10.
• After starting the year 1-4, the Marlins have gone 15-11 since.
• Lost three of four to the Mets in their first home series of the season, but have won nine of 14 home games since.
• Are looking to avoid their first series sweep of the season today.
YESTERDAY’S RECAP
Miami fell to the Braves, 14-6. Marked Miami’s second most runs allowed in 2023. LHP Braxton Garrett allowed a career-high 11 runs on a career-high 14 hits in 4.1 innings, surrendering 4 home runs. OF Jesus Sanchez (3×4) hit a two-run homer and scored 3 runs. 2B Xavier Edwards (1×1) singled in the seventh inning for his first career hit.
YARD SCRAPS
Marlins pitching allowed a season-high 6 home runs in Wednesday’s loss vs. Atlanta. Matched their second most homers allowed in a game (seventh time) in franchise history (7 is record). Was just the second home game in club history in which Marlins pitching allowed 6 home runs (also Aug. 13, 2019 in a 15-1 loss vs. the Dodgers).
SANCHEZ PUTS A STOP
OF Jesus Sanchez’s seventh inning home run in last night’s loss was the Marlins’ first home run since April 26 at Atlanta when the team hit solo home runs in three consecutive innings (second-fourth). Snapped a stretch of 56 consecutive homerless innings for the club.
HOME COOKING
In his last 6 starts at home (since Sept. 21, 2022), LHP Jesus Luzardo is 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA, allowing just 7 runs (2 home runs) on 25 hits in 36.0 innings with 50 strikeouts and 11 walks.
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
2B Luis Arraez leads MLB with his .432 batting avg. (41×95) and .491 on-base pct., is tied for 3rd with 41 hits, t-4th with 12 multi-hit games, and 5th with his 1.039 OPS. Is coming off of the best April in club history, setting club history with his .438 avg. and .500 on-base pct. in 23 gms, becoming one of only two Marlins players to own a .400 avg. entering May (also, Dee Strange-Gordon, .409 in 2015).
• Trails only Dee Strange-Gordon (49, 2015) and Martin Prado (42, 2016)for the most hits by a Marlins player through their first 27 gms of a season in club history.
• Became the first player to finish the month of April with a batting average of .435 or better and an OBP of .500 or better since Barry Bonds (.472 AVG and .696 OBP) in 1994 (min: 50 AB) – courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau.
• His .432 batting avg. is the highest through 27 gms into a season for any Major Leaguer since Cody Bellinger’s .433 mark to start the 2019 season with Los Angeles-NL.
• Has struck out 5 times in 108 PA (.046 K/PA), the lowest mark in MLB among qualIfied batters.
WINNING START
The Marlins’ 15 wins in the month of April tied the second-best mark in franchise history (also; 1997, 2004, and 2008) and marks the most wins in April since the team moved to Miami. The 15 wins mark the most since 2011 when the club set the all-time record with 16 wins.
• Miami secured a winning record in April for a second straight year – prior to last year’s April, the Marlins had not had winning record in April since 2016. Marks the first time the Marlins recorded back-to-back seasons of winning records in April since the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
ONE-RUN WONDERS
The Marlins are 10-0 in one-run games in 2023, marking the most consecutive wins in games decided by one run to start a season in franchise history. Are the only team yet to lose a one-run game this season.
• Marks the most consecutive wins in games decided by one-run to start a season since the 2004 Los Angeles Dodgers also went 10-0. The last team to start a season with a better stretch in such games was the 1972 New York Mets, who own the all-time record (courtesy of Elias Sports Bureau). • Miami played 64 games decided by one run in 2022, the most such games in the Majors last season. Miami’s 40 one-run losses were the most in a season in club history, the most since the 1975 Astros (41), and just three shy of the single-season record for one-run losses during the Live Ball Era (since 1920) held by the 1968 White Sox (44).
PRINCE OF APRIL
CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. has stolen 11 bases this season (in 13 attempts), which tied the club record for most steals in the month of April (also, Luis Castillo, 1997). His team-leading 11 steals are tied for fourth in MLB behind only Ronald Acuña Jr. (14), Ji Hwan Bae (13) and Esteury Ruiz (13).
• In his last 8 G, is batting .323 (10×31) with 2 HR, 5 RBI, 2 BB, and 4 SB. Prior to this stretch, was hitting .207 (17×82).
DO YOU LIKE PIÑA COLADAS
1B/DH Yuli Gurriel has hit safely in his last 5 gms, in 13 of 16 gms played this season, and has five multi-hit efforts with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 5 RBI. Has 3 walks and only 7 strikeouts in 62 plate appearances.
• His inside-the-park home run last Tuesday at Atlanta was the second of his career (also; July 23, 2019 vs. OAK) and the first in MLB in 2023. Marked his fourth career home run against RHP Jesse Chavez, his most against any opposing pitcher in the league (second-most is 3 HR against four different pitchers, including teammate Jesus Luzardo).
DANCING ON A THIN LINE
Thus far in 2023, Miami is 15-0 when limiting opponents to 4 runs or less and has gone 1-15 when allowing 5 or more runs.
CATCH US IF YOU CAN
The Marlins have stolen 27 bases this season, tied for seventh most in the Majors (third in NL). Have been caught just five times, the third-best SB pct. in the NL (84.4%) behind only the Mets (89.7%) and the Braves (88.0%).
WIN-DY CITY
The Marlins travel to Chicago tonight to face the Cubs tomorrow just a week after sweeping them in a three-game series in Miami. During the 2020 COVID-shortened season, the Marlins swept the Cubs in a best-of-three Wild Card series at Wrigley Field. Beginning with those two games, the Marlins have won 12 of the last 17 meetings between these two teams.
TODAY’S STARTER – #44 JESUS LAZARDO
• Jesus Luzardo, 25, will make his seventh start of the 2023 season and fifth career start against the Atlanta Braves today.
• Started the first game of the homestand for Miami on Apr. 28 vs. Chicago-NL. Surrendered 1 home run and 2 earned runs on 5 hits through 6.1 innings. Struck out 6 and walked 2.
• His last outing against the Braves came on Oct. 3 at loanDepot park – tossed 6 innings, allowed 0 runs, and struck out 12 batters, tying his career high in strikeouts.
• In his first 15 starts at loanDepot park from July 30, 2021 – Sept. 16, 2022, went 5-7 with a 5.72 ERA (74.0 IP/47 ER) with 11 home runs, 35 walks, and 76 strikeouts. In 6 starts at home since Sept. 21, 2022, has gone 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA (36.0 IP/7 ER) with 11 walks, 50 strikeouts, and 2 home runs allowed.
• Overall, went 2-2 with a 2.64 ERA (58.0 IP/17 ER) in 10 away starts in 2022 with 71 strikeouts vs. 1-5 with a 4.25 ERA (42.1 IP/20 ER) with 49 strikeouts in 8 starts at home.
• Made 18 starts last season to match his career-high. Missed 71 games from May 10 to August 1 with a left forearm strain.
• In 12 starts after returning on Aug. 1, went 2-4 with a 3.03 ERA, allowing 24 runs in 71.1 innings. Pitched 6.0+ innings in nine of 12 outings. Allowed two runs or less in nine of those outings. Includes a 1.85 ERA (24.2 IP/5 ER) with 45 strikeouts in his final four outings, and a career-high matching 12 K’s in his last outing against Atlanta.
• Opposing batters hit 1×36 (2B) in 0-2 counts vs. Luzardo in 2022. Struck out 21 of 36 batters(58%) in that situation.
