Braves Look to Take Series on Saturday Night Against Marlins Behind Rookie Grant Holmes

The Atlanta Braves are hot right now.

Winners of four straight and six of their last seven, Atlanta's has closed the ten-game lead of the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East to just five games, the lowest it has been since mid-May, thanks to a 6-1 stretch coinciding with the tail end of a Philly 2-8 cold streak.

Atlanta's looking to further close the divisional gap at the expense of the Miami Marlins, who dropped the first two games of this series after a Trade Deadline fire sale that saw seven MLB players shipped out in six deals and required nametags to be passed out in the big league clubhouse after eleven players joined the organization. The Braves are sending out 28-year-old rookie Grant Holmes (0-0, 2.54 ERA) for his second career MLB start opposite offseason free agent Kyle Tyler (0-2, 4.74).

Lineups for the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins on Saturday, August 3rd

Here's how the Braves will line up for the contest.

RF Jorge Soler
3B Austin Riley
DH Marcell Ozuna
1B Matt Olson
SS Orlando Arcia
C Travis d'Arnaud
LF Eddie Rosario
CF Jarred Kelenic
2B Whit Merrifield

Holmes is looking to build off of a spectacular debut last week against the Milwaukee Brewers. He struck out eight in his five innings of work with no walks, allowing only one run on three hits thanks to a Rhys Hoskins solo homer. It was a historic start to the game for Holmes, literally - he was just the second pitcher since 1961 to record the first seven outs of his debut MLB start via strikeout. He'll look to continue that success against a depleted Marlins roster that has struck out 25 times across the first two games of the series.

Here's how the Marlins will configure the squad for tonight's game:

SS Xavier Edwards
1B Jake Burger
RF Jesús Sánchez
DH Jonah Bride
LF Kyle Stowers
3B Emmanuel Rivera
CF Nick Gordon
2B Vidál Bruján
C Nick Fortes

Tyler, 27, is making his fifth career start for Miami but first against Atlanta. He's undoubtedly looking for more length in this one - in his first five times out, he's only once made it through the fifth inning, with his season-high being just 5.1 against the Boston Red Sox on July 4th. Only three Braves hitters have ever faced Tyler, and it's not gone well: Whit Merrifield is 1-2 with a single, while Matt Olson and Eddie Rosario are each 0-1.

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins on Saturday, August 3rd

Tonight's game three is set for 7:20 PM ET from Atlanta's Truist Park and is being broadcast on multiple Bally Sports regional sports networks: The Braves feed is on Bally Sports Southeast, while the Marlins are on Bally Sports Florida. There's also a Braves radio call available, airing on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan in the Atlanta metro and on various Braves Radio Network affiliates across Braves Country.