ATLANTA -- Ricky Nolasco will take to the mound Thursday once again looking to break a tie with Dontrelle Willis for the most victories in franchise history.
Nolasco had a shot it at Saturday against the Mets, but had his worst outing of the season. He walked three in the first inning, hit two batters late in the outing and gave up six runs on nine hits in his first loss of the season.
It won't be easy though. The Braves rank second in the National League in runs scored and batting average. Right-handed pitcher Brandon Beachy (4-1, 1.60 ERA) will start for the Braves. He touts the best ERA among NL starters, and is 1-0 with a 4.01 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins.
Throughout his career, Nolasco has had mixed results against Atlanta, going 5-7 with a 4.80 ERA in 20 career starts. But he does have fond memories here. Atlanta is where the righty broke the Marlins' single-game strikeout record three years ago, fanning 16 over 7 2/3 innings on Sept. 30, 2009. That day, Nolasco struck out the side in the third, fourth and fifth innings, falling one strikeout shy of the Major League record of 10 in a row.
> Good news Marlins fans. Looks like Giancarlo Stanton, who tweaked his left shoulder attempting to catch a sinking line drive off the bat off of Erik Hinske, is okay. He's back in the starting lineup. Stanton had the shoulder covered in ice last night and said his shoulder "freaking hurt."
THURSDAY'S LINEUP
> Marlins (20-17): 1. Jose Reyes SS, 2. Omar Infante 2B, 3. Hanley Ramirez 3B, 4. Logan Morrison LF, 5. Giancarlo Stanton RF, 6. Gaby Sanchez 1B, 7. Emilio Bonifacio CF, 8. Brett Hayes C, 9. Ricky Nolasco P.
its abvout time hayes is in lineup he s a better hitter and thrower than buck just cause he makes less $$$they dont play him buck is the king of pop ups nice swing but ball usually goes straight up
Posted by: andy | May 17, 2012 at 05:08 PM
Buck will be a stand-in for the Sasquatch in the commercials tonite.
Posted by: Messin with Sasquatch | May 17, 2012 at 06:00 PM