The Braves manage to avoid a sweep in Miami with a 8-5 victory over the Marlins Sunday. Rookie Max Fried pitched much better than his line of 4 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 4 R(2ER), 1 BB, 7 K. All of his trouble came when the Marlins put together a rally in the 5th that eventually caused Brian Snitker to pull the young lefty.

This series certainly was not the way the Braves wanted to finish the year. A few lopsided losses, including Lucas Sims and Julio Teheran both being being hit hard and both rookie pitchers Luis Gohara and Max Fried showing flashes of potential leave the Braves with many questions going into the offseason.

Since their season high mark of being 45-45, the Braves had an NL-Worst record of 27-45 to finish the season. The biggest question mark the team faces going into the offseason is pitching. Much like most of the second half, the series included inconsistent pitching from both the bullpen and starting rotation.

Thursday nights 7-1 loss by Julio Teheran and Saturdays 10-2 loss by Sims are two that both will have to shake off and gain confidence going into the offseason. Teheran, who was hit hard all season, will look to regain his form that made him the Braves ace the past few seasons. Sims, Gohara, Fried and Newcomb will all look to take their Major League experience from this season and come into Spring Training ready to prove they are ready for an entire Major League season.

2017 is officially in the books for the Atlanta Braves. Lots of promising development has been seen, which leaves plenty of room for optimism going into 2018. Look for the Braves to have an active offseason shuffling players around to take the next step forward in the rebuild process.