big fish

Corey Dickerson and the Miami Marlins visit Truist Park in Atlanta tonight in the first meeting of 2021 between the National League East rivals who met in the NLDS last year. Miami is off to a 2-6 start, and Dickerson, the McComb native and ex-Meridian Community College standout, is batting .269 (7-for-26) with no homers, two RBIs and three runs as the leadoff batter. Dickerson was singled out by Sports Illustrated as the “make-or-break” player in Miami’s lineup. He “has to rediscover his swing (from 2017-19) to bolster an otherwise unthreatening Marlins lineup,” writes SI’s Nick Selbe in the April 2021 issue. In his first season with Miami, Dickerson hit .258 with seven homers in 52 games as the team made a surprising run to the postseason. The batting average was down from his career line (.284) and so was his slugging percentage (.402 compared to .497). To contend again in the NL East, the Marlins probably do need more from the lefty-hitting outfielder, 31, who is entering Year 2 of a $17.5 million, two-year deal. Tonight, he’ll face Braves righty Huascar Ynoa, a Mississippi Braves alumnus who is coming off a strong start against Washington. … The Braves, 4-5 after Sunday’s controversial loss to Philadelphia, would welcome some thunder from the bat of DeSoto Central High alum Austin Riley, the power-hitting third baseman who is batting .207 (6-for-29) and has yet to drive in a run. But Riley isn’t the only Braves hitter who is scuffling; he actually has the second-best average in tonight’s lineup.