Braves’ Opening Day-like lineup held hitless for majority of game vs. Marlins

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – The Atlanta Braves rolled out an Opening Day-like lineup in Thursday’s 1-1 tie against the Miami Marlins, and it took them until the seventh inning to get their first hit.

The game was the third of 10 Braves games broadcast live on Gray this spring.

Opening Day lineup? Sure looks it

Atlanta rolled out a lineup Thursday that sure looked like the one we could see in San Diego against the Padres on March 27.

Jurickson Profar, Austin Riley and Matt Olson all drew walks in the first inning, but Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies weren’t able to get them home, with Albies grounding into an inning-ending double play.

And from then on, whether it was the chilly North Port weather or sheer dominance from Miami’s pitching staff, we didn’t see much from the Braves lineup as they were held hitless nearly all throughout.

Eli White was the one to get the ball rolling, as his opposite-field home run in the seventh inning ended the Marlins’ no-hit bid. White had one home run in 39 big-league at-bats in 2024.

But don’t fret. Although this lineup struggled against Ryan Weathers and the Marlins on Thursday, this lineup emulates that of what it was in 2024, a group of sluggers bound to wreak havoc at the plate in 2025.

Ian Anderson continues bid for rotation spot with strong outing

After striking out just one hitter in 4.2 innings spanning two starts this spring, Braves pitcher Ian Anderson struck out four hitters in three innings of work on Thursday. He also walked four hitters, two of which he allowed before getting taken out in the fourth inning.

Anderson’s final line: 3.1 IP, 1 hit, 4 BB, 4 K’s, 60 pitches.

Walks have been a struggle for Anderson this spring, as he’s allowed nine in eight innings of work across three starts. Anderson’s last start also came against the Marlins, where he pitched three hitless innings of work and averaged 93.6 mph — touching 94.9 mph — on his fastball. He allowed just two walks in that outing.

But overall, Anderson continued his case for a starting rotation spot. As Spencer Strider continues to rehab from his elbow injury, the rotation battle between Anderson, Grant Holmes, A.J. Smith-Shawver and Bryce Elder will likely go down to the wire.

Bullpen arms on display

Enyel De Los Santos, Raisel Iglesias, Buck Farmer, Anderson Pilar and Angel Perdomo got reps on the mound after Anderson was taken out after 3.1 innings.

But it was Farmer who impressed on Thursday.

Farmer took over for Iglesias in the seventh inning with a runner at first and eventually saw the bases loaded. But he was able to strike out Miami hitters Heriberto Hernandez and Xavier Edwards before getting slugger Jesus Sanchez to fly out to end the inning.

RELATED: Checking up on the Braves’ minor leaguers and non-roster invitees in spring training

Farmer is in contention for a bullpen spot this season, and Thursday’s appearance certainly helped him a long way. The 34-year-old Farmer is a Rockdale native, pitching at Georgia Tech before reaching the big leagues in 2014 with the Detroit Tigers. Farmer pitched the last three seasons in Cincinnati before signing a minor-league contract with Atlanta on Feb. 16.

Searching for an answer behind the dish

With Sean Murphy likely to open the regular season on the IL with a cracked rib, one of the more intriguing questions now in spring camp is who will be the Braves’ Opening Day catcher.

Top prospect Drake Baldwin now has a real shot at making the Opening Day roster, something that looked a little far-fetched early on in spring.

In addition to Baldwin, Atlanta has Chadwick Tromp, Sandy Leon and Curt Casali, the latter two with the club as non-roster invites. Two of these players will be on Atlanta’s Opening Day roster with Murphy out.

Casali started Thursday’s game, going 0-2 with a strikeout before Tromp took over behind the plate. Casali is hitless in eight at-bats this spring.

Up next

The Braves play the Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday and Saturday before visiting the Boston Red Sox on Sunday at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Fort Myers for the next Braves on Gray broadcast.