Marlins 4 - 0 Braves
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  for this game

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Aug 31, 2015 - 8:52 PM The Atlanta Braves have been swept in three of their last four series, but the latest took the embarrassment to a whole new level.

They'll try to clean things up against an opponent more to their liking beginning Monday night against the visiting Miami Marlins, who have only been slightly better over the closing days of August.

Atlanta (54-76) has followed a 0-7 road trip by losing five of six on a nine-game homestand, most recently being swept in three games by the New York Yankees concluding with Sunday's 20-6 loss.

"You never, as a baseball player, as a competitor, want to be a part of a game like this, unless you're on the other side," first baseman Freddie Freeman told MLB's official website. "It's just something that you never want to happen again. So you go out there and play, and hopefully you can contribute as much as you can so this doesn't happen again.

"Today's over with. Hopefully tomorrow we can play a better game."

In their 1-12 span, the Braves have a 7.61 ERA after giving up 38 runs to the Yankees. They're in position to lose six straight at home for the first time since their final six of 2009, and they could also drop 20 games in a month for the first time since going 9-20 in August 2008.

Adonis Garcia is at least providing some offensive optimism with three homers in his last six games while going 9 for 18 in his last four, and Nick Markakis is hitting .375 during an 11-game hitting streak.

The Braves can fall back on some season success against the Marlins with 10 wins in 13 games. The only other NL team they have a winning record against is Milwaukee (5-2).

The Marlins (52-79) have lost eight of 10, mostly because of a struggling offense. They've scored 2.2 runs per game in that span, though they showed some promise in Sunday's 7-4 loss in Washington.

Adeiny Hechavarria had three hits and Justin Bour and Derek Dietrich homered. Hechavarria had hit .143 in his previous nine games, and Bour has gone deep in two straight contests.

The Braves moved up Shelby Miller (5-11, 2.62 ERA) a day since scheduled starter Mike Foltynewicz is suffering from fever and viral symptoms. Miller is trying to avoid a 19th consecutive winless start, and his current run of futility is the longest by a Braves pitcher since the team moved to Atlanta in 1966.

The right-hander has lost back-to-back starts and was reached for four runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings of a 6-3 loss to Colorado on Wednesday. Amazingly, the Braves have failed to provide Miller with more than three runs in any start during his lengthy winless spell.

If there is a ray of hope for Miller to cling to, it's the fact his most recent victory came over the Marlins on May 17, a two-hit shutout in Miami in a 6-0 win. He is 2-1 with a 1.13 ERA in four starts versus Miami this season, allowing three runs in 24 innings while holding the Marlins to a .169 batting average.

He's up against Chris Narveson, who's no rookie but felt the pressure in his first big league start since April 2012 on Wednesday. Narveson (1-1, 7.04) surrendered seven runs in 3 2-3 innings of a 7-2 home loss to Pittsburgh.

"I was just missing up a little bit," the left-hander said. "I think I was a little amped up and trying to do a little too much. Obviously I left some balls up and they did what they were supposed to."

Atlanta's Michael Bourn is 5 for 10 in their matchups, but he's batted .093 in his last 17 games.






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