Preview: Colon, Braves to face Straily, Marlins in Miami opener

The Braves haven’t had much fun when it comes to Home Openers so far. They lost on Opening Day to the Mets by a 6-0 tally, and then dropped a frigid first game of the season at PNC Park in Pittsburgh a few days later. Now, they’re off to Miami to help their division rivals, the Marlins, kick off the 2017 season at Marlins Park.

The Braves currently sit at 1-5 on the year, and the big man, Bartolo Colon, started the only game that they’ve won so far. Colon held the Mets to just two hits in six one-run innings while throwing fastball after fastball. He notched six strikeouts and walked just one batter in that game.

His opponent, taking the mound for the Marlins in their first home game, will be Dan Straily. Straily is a 28-year-old already with his fifth major league team. Last season, Straily pitched like a #4 starter with the Reds, as his 3.76 ERA belied a 4.88 FIP and 5.02 xFIP. In short, he got lucky with both BABIP (.239) and strand rate (81.2%). On the plus side, though, he does feature a fairly unique skillset in that there’s a huge gap in movement between his fastball (which “rises”) and his changeup (which craters), so he might be interesting to watch.

Unfortunately for Straily, his first start of the season didn’t go as planned: the Nationals creamed him for five runs while he managed to get just 10 outs, and he walked two hitters while striking out none. The Braves also tagged him for six runs, including a Freddie Freeman homer, in his lone career start against them, which came in June of last year in Atlanta.

Notably, Colon’s last start against the Fish came late last September, where he got the start in the first Marlins game after the tragic death of Jose Fernandez. Colon got lit up in that game, allowing seven runs on eight hits while collecting just seven outs, none via strikeout.

This is the second time in three years that the Braves have participated in the Marlins’ home opener. This is also the last road series for the Braves before they kick off SunTrust Park later this week against the Padres. Also, this series is two games, for some reason, even though it’s the home opener series for the Marlins.

Seeing former Brave and fan favorite Martin Prado has been a highlight of recent Braves-Marlins contests, but Prado is sadly on the Disabled List with a hamstring injury.

Game Info

Atlanta Braves @ Miami Marlins

Marlins Park, Miami, FL

7:10 pm ET

TV: Fox Sports South

Radio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM, Braves Radio Network