Of all the series to start the season, I think Braves‘ second baseman Dan Uggla and new Manager Fredi Gonzalez probably looked for and circled this one first. Both had spent several years with the Florida Marlins before ending up in Atlanta this offseason.
Gonzalez was fired as the Marlins‘ manager during the 2010 season. He was hired as the successor to Bobby Cox one day after the Braves season ended in the divisional round loss to the San Francisco Giants.
Dan Uggla put up record-setting numbers as the second bagger with Florida, becoming the first second baseman in baseball history to hit at least 30 home runs in four straight seasons. He’s gotten off to a slow start this year but has already hit two homers for the Braves, the second of which was the eventual game winner against the Milwaukee Brewers.
This is an important early-season series for the two teams, so we will be looking at what they have done so far, who the key players are and what to expect from the two division rivals.
Editor’s Note: Starters are projected by ESPN.com.