MIAMI Fenway Park. His first collegiate win was a no-hitter over Yale. And Carlos Carrasco Jersey , at age 25, he has already been a first-round pick and a trade chip.He’s Sean Newcomb, a 6-foot-5, 255-pound left-hander and a key member of the Atlanta Braves rotation.On Thursday, Newcomb (10-6, 3.73 ERA) will open a four-game series at the host Miami Marlins.Article continues below ...The Braves are 13-11 when Newcomb starts this year, but his two most recent outings have been bombs, allowing 21 hits, five walks and 12 earned runs in 9 1/3 innings.Newcomb, whose average fastball is middle of the road in the majors at 93 mph, believes the key to getting back on track are his changeup and curve.“The changeup being good has been a big help,” Newcomb told The Atlanta Journal Constitution earlier this year. “It’s starting to be something to keep guys off my fastball.”Since making his major league debut last year, Newcomb is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts against the Marlins. So, perhaps pitching against Miami can revive Newcomb, who was brilliant in May (5-0 Cliff Pennington Jersey , 1.54 ERA). He was also strong in June (2-1, 2.67 ERA) before posting a 2-4 record since. He had a 5.06 ERA in July and owns a 7.63 ERA so far in three August starts.Newcomb on Thursday will face Marlins rookie right-hander Elieser Hernandez (2-6, 5.08 ERA).Hernandez has a 1.13 ERA in four relief appearances against the Braves, covering eight innings.But, as a starter, Hernandez is 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA.Hernandez, a 23-year-old from Venezuela, doesn’t throw as hard as Newcomb, averaging just 90.5 mph. He is much better at home (2-4, 2.43 ERA) than on the road (0-2, 10.07).August has been Hernandez’s best month so far as he has a 2.00 ERA in six relief appearances, covering nine innings.As for the lineups on Thursday, the Braves are hoping to get back catcher Kurt Suzuki, who took a pitch off his elbow on Tuesday in a loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.Tyler Flowers has been starting while Suzuki is out, and the Braves have also recalled 38-year-old veteran catcher Chris Stewart from Triple-A Gwinnett.Atlanta also is without its closer Joey Votto Jersey , Arodys Vizcaino, who has 29 saves over the past two years but is on the disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. He is expected to return next month.Miami has injury issues of its own. Center fielder Lewis Brinson (hip), third baseman Martin Prado (quadriceps), first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper (right wrist), starting pitcher Caleb Smith (lat strain) and reliever Kyle Barraclough (back) are all out.And starting pitcher Jose Urena is on the suspension list after hitting Braves star rookie Ronald Acuna with a pitch the last time these two teams played.The Marlins are coming off a 9-3 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday. Miami infielder Miguel Rojas smashed a three-run homer as part of a five-run sixth inning.Rojas delivered his shot — which was his 10th homer of the season — on the night that his mother and other family members flew in from Venezuela.“I don’t know what it is, but it’s something coming from upstairs (God) that always give me the chance to make something special for them,” Rojas said.Pinch-hitter JT Riddle slugged a two-run homer in the eighth to pad Miami’s lead.Meanwhile, the Braves beat the host Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 on Wednesday night as Jonny Venters earned just his second save of the season. A.J. Minter, who has taken over as Atlanta’s closer, was given the night off as he deals with an ailing back.In addition, Acuna — a player the Marlins know well — hit his 20th homer of the season and his sixth while leading off a game. He has also hit 13 homers since the All-Star break. Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesHere's an interesting question: Did Cole Hamels need the Chicago Cubs or did the Cubs need Hamels?Early in the veteran left-hander's North Side tenure, the answer appears to be a resounding "yes and yes."When the Cubs acquired Hamels from the Texas Rangers before the non-waiver trade deadline, their rotation was in trouble. Yu Darvish, their $126 million man, had an ugly 4.95 ERA and was dealing with triceps and elbow issues that would eventually cost him his season.Neither Jon Lester nor Jose Quintana was pitching like a top-shelf starter. Tyler Chatwood was battling command problems.Overall http://www.redsfanproshop.com/authentic-cliff-pennington-jersey , Cubs pitchers posted a 4.56 ERA in July.Chicago was hoping Hamels would be the cavalry as it battled for supremacy in the National League Central and aimed for another deep postseason run. But there was no guarantee.Hamels has an ace's resume, with four All-Star appearances and four top-10 Cy Young Award finishes. He owns a 3.48 ERA across 98.1 playoff innings and won a ring with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008.Lately, though, he's been less a reliable stud and more of a payroll drag. In 2017, the Rangers paid him $23.5 million, part of a $144 million extension he signed with Philadelphia in 2012. For that lofty sum, Hamels gave Texas a 4.20 ERA and career-low 6.4 strikeouts per nine innings.He turned 34 in December. It was worth wondering if his career was on an irreversible downslope.G Fiume/Getty ImagesThis season with the Rangers, he posted a 4.72 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 114.1 innings. Despite a rough July in which he coughed up 21 earned runs in 17 frames, it was enough to entice the Cubs to send a couple of minor league arms and a player to be named later to Texas in a change-of-scenery swap.So far, Hamels has been a revelation. In six starts with Chicago, he's 4-0 with an 0.69 ERA. The opportunity to pitch for a winner in the heat of a pennant race has brought out his best."To be able to change kind of the mindset, now to go on a first-place team, there's something inside of you that sparks when you get in those situations," he told reporters at the time of the trade.Hamels' average fastball has clocked in at 92.7 mph this season, per FanGraphs Reggie Sanders Jersey , a tick above his career mark of 92.3 mph. But he's throwing it just 26.8 percent of the time compared to a career average of 39.2 percent and relying more on hisoff-speed offerings.Here he is authoring a complete game August 23 against the Cincinnati Reds and throwing like a guy you'd gladly hand the ball to under the bright October lights:Most essentially, he's given the Cubs a necessary ingredient to wrest control of the division and getback to the Fall Classic."He has all the credentials," first baseman Anthony Rizzosaid, per ESPN.com's Jesse Rogers. "And he seems like he's having a good time."Hamels has a $20 million team option for next season, with an innings-based $24 million vesting option that he's unlikely to qualify for and a $6 million buyout.The Cubs probably won't pull the trigger at $20 million, but Hamels has pitched well enough to earn a lucrative deal this winter, in Chicago or somewhere else.We're insmall-sampleterritory, admittedly. No one expects Hamels to maintain a sub-1.00 ERA over the long haul. But he's not that far removed from success, either. He was an All-Star who eclipsed 200 innings as recently as 2016.Now, he's turning back the clock.The Cubbies needed him. He needed the Cubbies. Sometimes, these things just work out. Allstatistics currententering Sunday and courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.