The Braves will roll out the regulars, with Kevan Smith at catcher for the Saturday game against Miami. The preview for this game is well worth reading, given the shenanigans from Friday's game that may spill into Saturday, and that can be found here.
First pitch at 4:10 today at Truist Park!
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 3, 2021
Presented by @TruistNews | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/34X0QFnHAX
Meanwhile, the Marlins will run with the regulars of their own, with Jazz leading off and Alfaro behind the plate.
Marlins Lineup vs. Braves (4:10 ET)
— Fish Stripes (@fishstripes) July 3, 2021
2B Jazz Chisholm Jr.
CF Starling Marte
RF Garrett Cooper
1B Jesús Aguilar
SS Miguel Rojas
LF Jesús Sánchez
C Jorge Alfaro
3B Jon Berti
P Sandy Alcantara pic.twitter.com/12ipu1Vkkt
The Braves hope to win this game for a shot at breaking the glass ceiling of a .500 win percentage tomorrow, as they currently sit at 40-41, but only 3 games out of the division leaders, the New York Mets. If Atlanta is able to capitalize on this stretch of games against weaker opponants, they could find themselves in a good position in the division going into the all-star break, despite the excess of injuries, underperformance, and generally bad luck this season.
Amidst this significant moment in the Braves season, the potential for controversy surrounding the longtime tension between the two teams cast a shadow over this game after a fiery Friday.