Braves hope to continue heater against improving Marlins

The Atlanta Braves, riding a five-game winning streak, will send right-hander Grant Holmes to the mound on Tuesday to open a three-game home series with the Miami Marlins.

The Braves have gotten hot, going 12-5 since the All-Star break, including a four-game weekend sweep over the Washington Nationals. Atlanta holds an eight-game lead over Philadelphia in the National League East.

The Marlins have recovered from a franchise-record 12-game losing streak to win six of seven, including three straight against the New York Mets. Miami is 1 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot.

"We know this group well enough now," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. "They just don't ever quit and they're so good at being able to put things behind them and show up the next day."

Holmes (6-4, 3.88) worked 4 2/3 innings in his last start on Thursday against Washington, breaking a streak of four consecutive five-inning starts. He allowed three runs on five hits and two walks, striking out four.

In four career starts against the Marlins, Holmes is 1-0 with a 3.93 ERA. He received no decision against Miami on April 13 after allowing three runs in four innings.

The Marlins had not announced a starter.

The Braves made five deadline deals, but none were a blockbuster and none cost them top prospects in return.

Atlanta acquired outfielder Lane Thomas and left-hander Bailey Falter from Kansas City, right-hander starter Tyler Mahle from San Francisco and left-handed reliever Brent Suter from the Los Angeles Angels. Late deals brought a pair of right-handers who were optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett: Tyler Uberstine from Boston and Duncan Davitt from the Chicago White Sox.

Mahle will join the team's fragile starting rotation and will make his Atlanta debut this weekend in New York against the Yankees. In 18 starts for the Giants, Mahle is 3-9 with a 5.13 ERA, but has a 3.79 in seven starts since coming off the injured list with a hamstring injury on June 24.

"He's got a really good split, throws strikes," said Alex Anthopoulos, Atlanta's president of baseball operations. "We think there might be some of the pitch mix that we might be able to tweak and adjust, and we'll talk to him about that."

Thomas, a right-handed hitter, is expected to start against lefties. He is batting .232 with 10 homers and 37 RBIs in 97 games. He is hitting .263 against lefties and will likely platoon with Mike Yastrzemski in left field.

The sturdy Suter has made 41 appearances (three starts) and thrown 63 1/3 innings, going 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA. He is expected to bolster the back end of the bullpen and provide another late-inning lefty to help Dylan Lee in high-leverage situations.

The addition of Thomas caused the team to unload Eli White, its other reserve right-handed hitting outfielder, for Uberstine. The imminent return of catcher Sean Murphy from a fractured finger allowed Atlanta to send catcher Joey Bart to the White Sox for Davitt.

Miami was a minor player but held onto its main pieces, including starter Sandy Alcantara and outfielder Kyle Stowers. The Marlins traded catcher/designated Liam Hicks to Tampa Bay in exchange for three prospects, shipped left-hander Braxton Garrett to the Chicago Cubs for two prospects and swapped infielder Connor Norby and right-hander Aiden May to Colorado for right-hander Victor Vodnik. A late deal sent right-handed reliever Lake Bachar to Pittsburgh.

--Field Level Media