The Atlanta Braves offense exploded in the ninth yesterday to gain another game against the Miami Marlins. In a season that is mostly lost, it is the little things like catching the Marlins in the rankings that could make it a little more fun.
Joey Wentz will be taking the mound as the Braves look to take the series from the Marlins in this afternoon matchup. Pitching for his third team this season, Wentz seemed to have found a home in the team that drafted him late in the first round. In his first seven
appearances for the Braves this season he pitched 34.2 of 2.60 ERA and 3.12 FIP. He did have some BABIP luck with hitters having a .216, but it was still welcomed results for a rotation that has been largely depleted.
His last start was not as encouraging. He only lasted 3.1 innings against the Mets where he gave up six earned runs on nine hits and two walks to only three strikeouts. His trends are not promising. In the month of July, when he made four starts, he had an exceptional expected weighted On Base Average (xwOBA) against him of 0.236. In his four starts in August his xwOBA against was a much higher .374. To put this into perspective, the league average xwOBA is .325.
As expected, Wentz does not have much experience against the current Marlins roster. No player has more than five at-bats. Dane Myers is the player with those five at-bats and has a 1.100 OPS. Small sample sizes can be deceiving, but they should not be disregarded. Derek Hill has only seen Wentz twice but has yet to get out against him. The rest of the hitters that have faced Wentz in the past have struggled.
Ryan Gusto will be taking the mound for the Marlins. The rookie started the 2025 season with the Astros and pitched 86.0 innings for them. He came to the Marlins in the Jesús Sánchez trade. Gusto had a 4.92 ERA, 4.15 FIP, and 1.430 WHIP for the Astros. Since then he has pitched 12.0 innings for the Marlins and has a 6.00 ERA, but much better 3.87 FIP and 1.167 WHIP.
No Braves’ player has seen Gusto in more than three at-bats. These at-bats took place when Gusto faced the Braves on August ninth. In that game Matt Olson and Nick Allen each had a hit in their two at-bats. Drake Baldwin and Michael Harris each had a hit in their three at-bats. The Braves tagged Gusto for three earned runs in 6.0 innings.
First pitch is at 1:10 EDT
Game Info
Game Date/Time: Monday, August 27, 1:10 m. EDT
Location: LoanDepot Park, Miami, FL
TV: Fanduel Sports South / Southeast
Listen: 680 the Fan/93.7 FM the Fan
