(SportsNetwork.com) – The Atlanta Braves were hoping they found a steal when
they acquired former All-Star Trevor Cahill in a trade right before the start
of the season.
Cahill will get his first chance to show the Braves they were right as he
takes the mound on Tuesday night in the middle contest of a three-game series
with the Miami Marlins.
An All-Star with Oakland in 2010, the 27-year-old Cahill posted two solid
seasons with Arizona before struggling to a 3-12 mark with one save and a 5.61
earned run average over 32 outings with 17 starts last year. His campaign
included some time in the minor leagues as he struggled early on.
Cahill was then dealt to the Braves on April 2 along with cash for a minor
leaguer.
“We thought he was a good buy-low type of candidate,” Braves assistant general
manager John Coppolella told his team’s website at the time of the deal. “He’s
still young and has good stuff. We saw him four different times this spring.
We think there should be some regression to the mean, based on what he has
done in the past.
The right-handed Cahill will make his sixth career start versus the Marlins
and is 2-1 against them with a 3.86 ERA.
Miami’s Tom Koehler faces Atlanta for the second time in as many starts this
season, failing to beat the club for the first time in his career last
Wednesday despite a solid effort.
The 28-year-old righty pitched six shutout innings against the Braves, but
allowed a two-run homer in the seventh without recording an out. That dropped
him to 0-3 in this matchup with a 3.13 ERA in 10 games (7 starts).
The Braves outscored the Marlins 16-3 in sweeping the season-opening series in
Miami and then opened this set with a 3-2 victory on Monday in a contest that
featured a pair of rain delays totaling 1 hour and 31 minutes.
Alberto Callaspo and Nick Markakis singled in runs during a two-run fifth
inning and Shelby Miller gave up a run over five innings to pick up his first
win with Atlanta.
“Solid performance,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said of Miller. “We got
something going bottom of the fifth … and he was in line for the win.”
The Braves are now 6-1 on the season, rebounding from their first loss, a
setback to the New York Mets on Sunday.
The Marlins, meanwhile, have lost three in a row and are just 1-6.
Mat Latos allowed three runs — two earned — on five hits and three walks
with five strikeouts for Miami.
“It’s just a matter of putting things together,” Latos said. “It will turn
around.”
Christian Yelich drove in the Marlins’ lone run with a ground out in the third
inning.
