The lone matinee in MLB on Tuesday is Braves at Marlins
By Matt Severance May 19, 2026 at 8:48 am ET • 4 min read
Imagn Images If there's a standalone weekday matinee in MLB, I'm probably going to address it in this space because those games do so well betting action-wise. And we have one today as the Braves visit the Marlins in the second game of their NL East series. It's a 4:10 p.m. ET first pitch from loanDepot park. That has a retractable roof (usually closed), so we know it will be played.
Braves vs. Marlins parlay for Tuesday
- Atlanta Money Line
- Alt Under 11
Parlay: +125 at DraftKings
Atlanta is tied for the best record in the majors at 32-16 and has by far the biggest division lead at seven games over second-place Philadelphia – which is surging. The Braves are -400 to win the NL East for the first time since 2023, and first-year manager Walt Weiss is the +260 favorite at FanDuel for NL Manager of the Year.
And this team should only get better tonight, as former NL MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. is expected to return from an injured list stint for a hamstring issue that has kept him out since May 2. Well, Acuna was activated ahead of Monday's 12-0 blowout loss but didn't play – he was available to pinch-hit. The original plan was to wait to let him return this weekend once the team returned home and so as to not play on that somewhat harsh turf in Miami. So perhaps he is the designated hitter tonight.
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The Braves lead the majors in hits (430) and slugging percentage (.439), are tied for first in batting average (.263) and are second in runs (250) despite the Acuna injury and slow starts offensively from third baseman Austin Riley and outfielder Mike Yastrzemski. It seems those two are starting to heat up, but not Monday, when the club got clobbered and managed four hits. It was the largest home shutout win in Marlins history.
An Atlanta rotation fronted by lefty Chris Sale, the 2024 NL Cy Young winner and +550 third-favorite to win another, and Spencer Strider is about as good a 1-2 punch as there is. The Braves have played 15 series this year and won 13 of them. They lost two of three in Seattle from May 4-6 and split four at Arizona from April 2-5.
Veteran lefty Martin Perez (2-2, 2.25 ERA) makes the start today, and the 35-year-old has shuffled from the bullpen to the rotation this year, making five starts in nine appearances. Perez was originally lined up for Monday's series opener but was pushed back a day after throwing a scoreless inning of relief Saturday against Boston. Perez has not faced the Marlins this year and no Miami hitter has more than three at-bats off him.
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Atlanta leads the majors with a collective ERA of 3.14 and hadn't allowed more than three runs in 12 straight games until Monday. That had been the longest such run for the franchise since also 12 in July 2002 and second-longest in the majors this year behind a 13-game run from Tampa Bay. The Braves are 4-11 this season when scoring three or fewer runs and 28-5 when getting at least four.
Miami has some interesting talent but likely misses the playoffs a third straight season. It is priced +1100 for extra baseball and -2500 for No. Shortstop Otto Lopez is having a career year in batting .337, which leads the majors. He was the first and still only big-leaguer to 60 hits this year. Lopez was a +30000 longshot in the spring to lead MLB in hits this season.
Lefty Braxton Garrett starts on the mound Tuesday, and there's nowhere to go but up for the 28-year-old as he was raked for five runs and walked five over just 1.1 innings last Thursday in a blowout loss at Minnesota in Garrett's season debut after being recalled from Triple-A (where he was pretty good). It was his first start in the majors since June 2024 due to UCL surgery.
In five career starts against the Braves, Garrett is 0-3 with a 6.86 ERA and 16 walks in 21 innings. Ozzie Albies is 4-for-5 off him with two doubles, so I may look at Over 1.5 total bases on him. NL MVP candidate Matt Olson is 0-for-10 off Garrett with two strikeouts.
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I'm always a fan of backing a good team the immediate game after it got routed, which the Braves obviously did Monday. They have lost two in a row only twice this season. Then add Acuna back. The money line by itself is completely fine, but what's the fun in that? Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.
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