Game Preview: Florida Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves (Game 1)

Monday, September 27 – 7:10 (SportSouth)
Florida Marlins (77-78) vs. Atlanta Braves (87-69)

Alex Sanabia
(3.99 ERA, 4.67 xFIP, 2.20 BB/9, 5.79 K/9, 7.5 SwStr%, 35.4 GB%)
(Career vs. ATL: 2 GS, 0-0, 5.79 ERA, 4 BB, 9 K)
vs.
Tommy Hanson
(3.51 ERA, 4.13 xFIP, 2.56 BB/9, 7.77 K/9, 8.4 SwStr%, 40.1 GB%)
(Career vs. FLA: 5 GS, 3-1, 3.64 ERA, 14 BB, 27 K)

Braves vs. Sanabia:
Jason Heyward: 3-5, BB, 2 K
Martin Prado: 3-6, 2B, HR, RBI
Brian McCann: 0-4, RBI, BB, K
Alex Gonzalez: 3-4, 2B
Nate McLouth: 1-4, RBI, K
Omar Infante: 1-3

Marlins vs. Hanson:
Dan Uggla: 2-12, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Gaby Sanchez: 4-9, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, K
Cameron Maybin: 3-7, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Logan Morrison: 1-3, HR, RBI
Mike Stanton: 0-3, K

What to Watch:
How bad the Braves play behind Tommy Hanson. Seriously. Hanson had good numbers against the Marlins before his last start against them on August 27, in which he allowed six earned runs. Hanson pitched six shutout innings against the Phillies last time out, but luckily he got a no-decision instead of a loss. Several Marlins hitters have decent numbers against him, but there is one he won’t have to deal with. Hanley Ramirez is out for possibly the rest of the season. On the other side, the Braves got to Alex Sanabia for five runs in five innings last time they faced, due in large part to Sanabia running out of gas.

My Take on the Opposition:
There’s nothing flashy about Sanabia. He throws a decent fastball and keeps hitters off balance with a solid changeup. He doesn’t rack up a ton of strikeouts, but he keeps the walks to a minimum and doesn’t allow many homers. One weakness is Sanabia has yet to go deep into games, evident by his last outing against the Braves when he couldn’t find the zone in the sixth and gave up five runs. The Braves should work the count early and make him throw pitches.