Rookie right-hander Jose Fernandez gets his second career look at the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night when the Miami Marlins host them for the third of a four-game series at Marlins Park.
A 21-year-old native of Cuba, Fernandez has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise lightless season for the Marlins, who are bringing up the rear in the National League East and trail the first-place Braves by 33 1/3 games.
Fernandez's first game against Atlanta came in his 26th start of the season on Aug. 30, when he pitched six innings and allowed three hits and two runs but nonetheless came away on the short end of a 2-1 decision at Turner Field.
He gave up a home run in the outing, in which he also walked two batters and struck out eight while seeing his 2013 earned run average tick slightly upward from 2.30 to 2.33.
It dropped back down after his one subsequent outing since the loss, in which he tossed seven innings of scoreless one-hit ball on the way to a 7-0 defeat of Washington last Friday in Miami.
Fernandez walked two and struck out nine in the win, which was his 11th of the season overall and raised his record in Miami to 8-0 in 14 starts. Opponents are batting just .161 off him in 91 full innings at Marlins Park.
He's opposed by 25-year-old lefty Mike Minor, whose four-decision win streak ended with his most recent start last Friday in Philadelphia.
There, the Tennessee native allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings but still was on the losing end of a 2-1 decision.
In his previous seven starts, Minor had gone 4-0 while improving his record from 9-5 to 13-5.
The Braves were 6-1 in those seven games.
In his last start against Miami, the 12th of his career, Minor pitched seven innings and allowed four runs in a game the Braves ultimately won, 5-4.
He's 3-3 overall against the Marlins with a 4.39 ERA in 67 2/3 innings.
On Tuesday, Evan Gattis went 2-for-5 with two RBI to lead the Braves to a 4-3 win.
Chris Johnson went 2-for-4 with one RBI and Brian McCann also drove in a run for the Braves, who reduced their magic number for clinching the NL East to seven.
Julio Teheran (12-7) allowed three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings. Craig Kimbrel spun a scoreless ninth to notch his MLB-leading 46th save.
Giancarlo Stanton, Logan Morrison and Donovan Solano drove in one run apiece for the Marlins, losers in four straight.
Tom Koehler (3-10) yielded four runs on eight hits and three walks over five innings to drop his fourth straight decision.
Atlanta won 10 of the first 15 meetings with the Marlins this season, including two of three in a series from Aug. 30-Sept. 1.
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