Marlins at Braves 5/18/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

On Friday, the Miami Marlins (16-26, 5th NL East) open a three-game series on the road against the Atlanta Braves (26-16, 1st NL East).

Miami will conclude its three-game set with the Dodgers on Thursday, and has won each of the first two games of that series including Wednesday night’s 6-5 victory. J.T Realmuto broke a sixth inning tie with a home run to lead the Marlins to the win.

Atlanta has won two of three against the Cubs including Wednesday night’s 4-1 victory. Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna Jr. knocked in the tiebreaking run during the eighth inning to give the Braves the win. Atlanta holds a one-game lead in the NL East over Philadelphia and two games over Washington. Starlin Castro leads the Marlins with a .300 batting average and team high 48 hits. Justin Bour is the team leader in home runs with nine and RBIs with 23. Miami has a team batting average of .232 while opposing hitters are averaging .253 at the plate against Marlins pitching. On Friday, the Marlins will send Dan Straily to the mound. The right-hander this season is 1-0 with an ERA of 5.54, 8 Ks and 11 BBs.

Nick Markakis leads the Braves with a .333 batting average and team high 56 hits. Ozzie Albies is the team leader in home runs with 13, while Freddie Freeman leads in RBIs with 32. Atlanta has a team batting average of .266, while opposing hitters are averaging .234 at the plate against Braves pitching. On Friday, Atlanta will send Sean Newcomb to the mound. The left-hander this season is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.51, 54 Ks and 22 BBs.