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Game one of the four-game set against the Miami Marlins, the other NL East postseason team from a season ago, is scheduled for 7:20 p.m. local time. It’s the beginning of the second series in the first homestand of the season.
The Marlins starting pitcher tonight will be Sandy Alcántara. The 25-year old Dominican was a 2019 All-Star, which was his second season with the Florida Fish after his lone season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017.
He has a career record of 11-20, with an ERA of 3.62, & 247 strikeouts. He has a 5-pitch arsenal, consisting of: a Sinker (33.5%), Changeup (22.7%), Slider (21.6%), 4-Seam Fastball (18.8%), & Curveball (3.4%). He predominantly throws his sinker & fastball up & in to right-handed hitters, with his slider being his “out-pitch” low & away; while his changeup lives at the bottom of the zone.
He’s gone away from his fastball in 2021 since 2017 in terms of use percentage, from 25% down to 17ish%. While his changeup usage has almost doubled from 12% to 22%, 10.5% in 2020.
His fastball averages 97.6 mph with 14.7 inches of drop. Compared to his sinker at an average velocity of 97.2 mph with 22.4 inches of drop. The similarities between the two make him an effective two-pitch pitcher who uses complimentary pitches sporadically to keep batters honest.
The Marlins will be bringing with them to Atlanta, a familiar face & fan favorite from the last few years, in outfielder Adam Duvall. Duvall was non-tendered this past offseason, making him an unrestricted free agent which ended in him moving to South Beach.
Perhaps the biggest Marlins roster news concerning the Braves is who Miami WON’T be bringing. The man I’m speaking of is Ronald Acuña’s arch nemesis, José Ureña. The only man that is more hated in Braves Country than Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, & the Mets combined. Ureña is now a Detroit Tiger. So Ronald will have to come up with an alternate motivating factor to keep his DOMINANCE of the Marlins going.
The Braves send Huascar Ynoa to the mound to start this series off. Huascar’s a guy that’s really picked up steam in Braves Country lately, most notably after his magnificent performance in last year’s NLCS. He started against Washington on the 7th, when he threw 5 scoreless innings with 5 strikeouts, & only surrendering one base on balls & 2 hits.
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