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Here are three things we gleaned from the Braves' 11-3 loss to the Marlins -- a lopsided defeat that robbed Atlanta of a chance to seize the outright lead for the No. 2 slot in the National League wild-card chase.
How one-sided was Friday's clash? Miami has now scored nine or more runs three times against Atlanta this year.
Incredibly, Friday marked Harang's sixth start of the year against the Marlins -- an absurd single-season tally, short of an extended postseason run.
And that familiarity certainly worked against the Atlanta pitcher on this night, with the Miami hitters teeing off for six runs (two in the 1st, 3rd, 4th) and 10 hits over just 3 2/3 innings of work.
It was easily Harang's shortest start of the season; and if we're being honest here, it's on the short list of the veteran pitcher's least ineffectual starts, at a time when the Braves cannot afford another wretched road trip (nine games in Miami, Washington and Texas).
Throughout his brief appearance, Harang routinely left balls up in the zone and around the fat part of the plate. The result: The Marlins stealthily pounded out a season-high 18 hits.
"(Maybe) the Marlins got all of their hits out of the way," said Braves skipper Fredi Gonzalez during his postgame presser, lamenting some hope for Saturday and Sunday.
Of course, that "list" seemingly gets longer by the fortnight. Since Aug. 14, Harang has surrendered 21 runs over 27.1 innings, for a gruesome ERA of 6.97. Of the five outings within this span, the 36-year-old righty has allowed at least three runs each time.
Which brings us to this: The Braves (73-68) love to lean on veteran starters during a playoff run, but does Harang deserve another four starts in September?
Citing the Braves' five-man rotation, Harang is on track for four more outings down the stretch -- Sept. 10 at the Nationals, Sept. 16 vs. the Nationals, Sept. 22 vs. the Pirates and Sept. 27 at the Phillies, the penultimate game of the regular season.
Would the club pare down to a four-man rotation through Sept. 18, given the off days for Sept. 11 and 18?
Theoretically, this would allow Alex Wood and Julio Teheran to squeeze in one extra start apiece before Atlanta's final off day (the 18th), and enable Teheran, Ervin Santana and Mike Minor to take the mound for the Sept. 15-17 home series against the Nationals.
(Not that Washington is in danger of blowing its substantial lead in the NL East.)
The downside to that: The red-hot Wood (1.86 ERA in his last seven starts) has already logged 145 MLB innings for the season and the Braves most certainly wouldn't want to exhaust his so-called innings limit before the playoffs -- if such a threshold exists.
Or maybe David Hale (1.1 innings of scoreless relief on Friday) could assume Harang's No. 5 slot in the Braves' rotation.
The upside to that: With the Sept. 1 call-ups, Atlanta now has eight setup relievers in the bullpen (excluding closer Craig Kimbrel). The club could always treat a Hale start as a golden chance to pitch four or five relievers on that same day -- without hindering their availability for when Teheran, Wood, Santana or Minor take the hill.
Either way, we're certain of one thing: With his 6.23 seasonal ERA against Miami, Harang must be thrilled to be done with the Marlins for the foreseeable future.
Back on July 31, the Miami and Houston front offices pulled off a swap that could have "blockbuster" ramifications down the line, with the Marlins landing Jarred Cosart and two medium-level prospects (Enrique Hernandez, Austin Wates) and the Astros getting a 2015 compensatory draft pick, outfielder Jake Marisnick and Colin Moran, a sweet-swinging third baseman who was Miami's No. 1 pick just 15 months ago.
So, how is this relevant in the land of Three Cuts? Well, on Friday, Cosart racked up his fourth straight victory with Miami, holding Atlanta to just three runs and five hits -- a deceiving final line, since the Marlins were enjoying a 9-1 lead when Cosart (just 24 years old) gave up two non-essential runs in the eighth inning.
Even with that late-innings dip, check out Cosart's numbers from his last five starts: 4-0, a 1.28 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 20/6 K-BB ratio. Digging deeper, Cosart amazingly has a 0.00 ERA for Innings 1-3 since being traded to Miami; and in three yearly outings against Atlanta, Cosart holds an elite-level ERA of 1.70.
On the flip side, a lot of opposing pitchers have experienced great success against the Braves hitters this season. Friday's defeat marked the 78th time Atlanta has registered just three runs or less -- or 55 percent of its games.
**Jason Heyward, Andrelton Simmons and Freddie Freeman (solo homer) -- the 1-2-3 hitters in Friday's lineup -- each accounted for one hit and one RBI against the Marlins. And clean-up hitter Justin Upton belted two of the longest outs you'll see all year.
**Alex Wood and Julio Teheran, the Braves' two best pitchers right now, take the mound on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
**To be considered realistic threats for one of the NL wild card slots, the Marlins (68-71) need to sweep this three-game set.
**Heading into Friday's action, Milwaukee (tied with Atlanta for the WC2 slot) and Pittsburgh (71-68 entering the day) had combined for 13 straight losses.
**If the Braves can maintain a 52-percent winning clip for this nine-game roadie, they'll be rewarded with a 10-game home stand from Sept. 15-25 -- culminating with a control-your-own-destiny, four-game series against the Pirates.
