Preview: Justin Nicolino makes season debut as Marlins aim to avoid sweep
TV: FOX Sports Florida
TIME: Pregame coverage begins at 12:30 p.m.
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MIAMI -- The Atlanta Braves will try for a three-game sweep on Sunday when they complete their series at the Miami Marlins.
It's hard to give the Braves too much credit, however. They are still pretty terrible at 13-20. It's just that they aren't quite as bad -- at least right now -- as the Marlins (13-22).
The Marlins have been an absolute mess lately, going 0-5 on a homestand in which three starting-caliber infielders have been placed on the disabled list.
Things may have hit rock bottom on Saturday when left fielder Marcell Ozuna lost a ball in the lights, leading to two Atlanta runs in a 3-1 Braves win.
But who knows? Perhaps the Marlins, who have dropped 14 of their past 17 games, can still get even worse.
"It's frustrating to all of us," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after Saturday night's latest debacle. "The way we are playing, everyone is frustrated.
"But are we going to come out and fight or are we going to think that the season is not going to be a good one?"
Marlins center fielder Christian Yelich said his team will choose to fight.
"You can't quit right now -- it's May," Yelich said. "If everyone in here quits, it's going to be a really long year. You can't fold up shop -- it's not even Mother's Day."
Actually, it was just 90 minutes away from midnight and the official start of Mother's Day when Yelich made his comments, but you get his point. It's too early for the Marlins to quit, and they will have an opportunity to end their losing skid on Sunday against Braves knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (3-2, 4.29).
The Marlins will call up left-hander Justin Nicolino from Triple-A New Orleans. It will be the 2017 big-league debut for Nicolino, who is 8-10 with a 4.52 ERA in his career in the majors.
Nicolino, 25, broke into the majors in 2015, making 12 appearances, all starts, and posting a 4.01 ERA. Last year, he made 18 appearances, including 13 starts, and had a 4.99 ERA.
He is just 2-6 at Marlins Park.
While Nicolino is still trying to get established in the majors, Dickey is one of the oldest pitchers in the league at age 42. He has a 113-110 career record with a 4.02 ERA, and he has won at least 10 games in each of the past five years.
His matchup against the Marlins figures to be a good one for Dickey. That's because the Marlins struggle against soft-tossers. Dickey's average pitch is 77.7 mph, which is the slowest in the National League. And the Marlins are hitting .190 on pitches that register 78 mph or less.
The Marlins haven't faced a knuckleball pitcher since taking on Steven Wright in August 2015, so they may be a bit rusty in trying to time up on Dickey.
Meanwhile, the Braves lineup has been better than expected. Third-hole hitter Freddie Freeman is batting .342, and cleanup batter Matt Kemp is hitting .333 with an active 13-game hit streak.
Following those two in the lineup are Nick Markakis, who is batting .302, and Tyler Flowers, who is batting .353 and had a large role in winning the opening game of this series with four RBIs.
Even young shortstop Dansby Swanson, who made his major league debut last year but has struggled this season with a .169 batting average, is showing signs of breaking out of his batting slump. He is on a season-best five-game hit streak and is batting .278 during that span.
"The biggest thing is getting at-bats," Swanson said. "I feel real clear with what I'm trying to do. But you can't control it after you hit it. I just go up there and compete."
