The Atlanta Braves will send left-hander Joey Wentz to the mound on Sunday when they try to take four of five games in the series against the visiting Miami Marlins.
The Braves swept a doubleheader from the Marlins on Saturday, winning the opener 7-1 and taking the nightcap 8-6. The losses knocked Miami back to three games under .500 and leave them six games behind in the chase for the final National League wild-card playoff spot.
Wentz (2-3, 5.34 ERA) will be matched against Miami right-hander Cal Quantrill (4-9, 5.21) in the series finale.
Wentz has provided some emergency assistance for the decimated Atlanta starting rotation since he was picked up on July 11 after being waived by Minnesota. In five games with the Braves, the left-hander is 0-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings.
He is coming off his worst start when he took the loss against visiting Milwaukee on Tuesday. He worked 5 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
“Joey did a lot better,” Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. “We missed some balls (in the field) and there were a lot of things that he couldn’t control. I thought he threw the ball really well again.”
Wentz has made three career appearances against the Marlins, all out of the bullpen, going 2-1 with a 0.96 ERA in 9 1/3 innings. He faced Miami on March 29 while still playing for Pittsburgh and took the loss, allowing two unearned runs in two innings.
“It’s your job to keep executing and keep going,” Wentz said.
Quantrill will be making his 23rd start this season. He was roughed up in his last outing after three consecutive starts that saw him allow one run in 16 innings. On Tuesday against visiting Houston, Quantrill gave up seven runs on nine hits and three walks with two strikeouts.
“It wasn’t the same kind of rhythm, wasn’t in the same flow that he has been,” Miami manager Clayton McCullough said. “One of those nights where you just don’t execute at the same level that he has been going for a while. I expect Cal to wash this one away and come back ready for his next one.”
Quantrill said, “I just didn’t locate; I wasn’t ahead in as many counts as I usually am and I paid the price. It’s been a good two months. So put this one in the past and keep going.”
Quantrill has made four career starts against the Braves, going 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings. He faced the Braves on April 5 and earned the victory when he fired five scoreless innings, allowing four hits, no walks and four strikeouts.
Quantrill will need to find a way to slow down Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin, who has driven in 10 runs in the first four games of the series, and Michael Harris II, who had four hits in the doubleheader and is batting .354 (35-for-99) in his last 25 games.
Atlanta will need to stop Miami second baseman Xavier Edwards. He had three hits in the doubleheader and is 8-for-19 in the series.