The Braves take on their next National League East foe, the Marlins. The Fighting Fish are a tough little team who always play the Braves hard. They will be coming into Turner Field this time with a new manager, after firing Fredi Gonzalez last week.
The Braves will play their last three home games before heading out on the road to face the rest of the NL East. Atlanta must find a sense of urgency in this series, as both the Mets and the Phillies are playing easy-to-beat teams in the Nationals and Pirates. Of course, both the Mets and the Phillies lost to those teams last night, allowing the Braves to pick up a half game on each team in the standings.
Talking Chop kicks off Independence Day weekend with a Braves-Marlins series preview:
The Fish come into Friday's series with a record of 37-41 and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. Interim manager Edwin Rodriguez is 3-5 so far in his brief stint with the team, but they did beat the Mets twice in Puerto Rico. One thing to keep an eye on (especially on Friday) is how much energy the Marlins show. While the Braves were relaxing in Atlanta, the Fish were flying in from a foreign country with poor weather. Hopefully it gives the Braves an advantage.
TC commenters are predicting a 2-1 series victory for the home team.