The Atlanta Braves will be playing at home this week for the final week of the 2010 MLB season and may just be what they need in order to bounce back from their awful road trip and gain success and be able to capture the National League wild card win.  The Braves are currently just a half a game behind the San Diego Padres to win the wild card despite losing five of the last six games on their recent road trip, which was a disaster with the New York Giants leading.

The Braves will hand over the ball to right-handed pitcher Tommy Hanson who will take the mound as the starting pitcher Monday night.  Hanson is currently 10-11 with an ERA of 3.51 for the season.  This season against the Marlins, he is 2-1 although his last start against Florida on August 27 resulted in a loss at which time he allowed seven runs and four home runs during five innings.

In Hanson’s last 13 starts, he’s only received 2.61 support runs and is 2-5 with an ERA of 2.61.  In five starts against Florida, he’s received 5.46 support runs and went 3-1 with an ERA of 3.64. If the Braves plan to bounce back from such as a rough road trip, they are going to step it up and support Hanson.

For this game, DSI Sportsbook and Bookmaker Online Sportsbook both have the Marlins listed as the favorite on the moneyline at -184 and -185 respectively.

The Marlins will hand the ball to rookie right-handed pitcher Alex Sanabia who is currently 5-3 with an ERA of 3.99 for the season and against the Braves is 2-1 with an ERA of 2.60.  In his last start against Atlanta on Spetember 5, Sanabia allowed just five runs over five innings, which resulted in a 7-6 victory at the end of the 10th inning.  Since being called up, Sanabia has proven thus far that he belongs and is working on marking himself a spot next year.

The Marlins are hoping their premier shortstop is able to return to the lineup for Monday night’s game.  Hanley Ramirez, who has been out with an injury to his elbow, is batting .407 average with four home runs and 11 runs batted in against Atlanta this season – this is something that could give the Marlins the advantage in the game whether they need it or not.

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