Foltynewicz, Freeman lead Braves to win
ATLANTA — Starting pitcher Mike Foltynewicz had a career-high 11 strikeouts and Freddie Freeman batted in four runs as the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 on Saturday night.
Miami led 1-0 in the sixth inning when Giancarlo Stanton slugged his 36th homer, most in the major leagues. One night after homering twice, Stanton crushed Foltynewicz’s fastball deep into the seats in the left field, but the Braves took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning on Freeman’s RBI single and Nick Markakis’ RBI double.
Freeman hit his 20th homer, a three-run blast, and Brandon Phillips had a two-run single in a five-run seventh.
Foltynewicz (10-6) struck out eight of the first 12 batters he faced. He allowed four hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings and did not issue a walk for the first time in 15 starts.
The Braves have won each of Foltynewicz’s last seven home starts. He’s 5-0 with a 2.43 earned run average in that stretch. His previous career high in strikeouts was 10.
The Marlins’ Dan Straily (7-8) lost his fourth straight start, allowing five hits, two runs and one walk and striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings.
Stanton added an RBI double in the eighth. He needs two homers to pass his career high of 37 in 2012 and 2014. He is easily within reach of the club record, which Gary Sheffield set with 42 homers in 1996.
Braves closer Arodys Vizcaino earned a save for the second straight night, relieving Luke Jackson with the bases loaded in the ninth and retiring the two batters he faced.
The Marlins have dropped two straight games after winning nine of 13. They had won four straight series, their best streak since August-September 2015. Before the visit from Miami, the Braves had gone 0-4-1 in series play since sweeping Arizona after the All-Star break.
Miami’s Jose Urena (9-5, 3.82 ERA) is 0-3 with an 8.10 ERA in four career starts and three relief appearances against Atlanta. He gets the start today against the Braves’ Lucas Sims (0-1, 4.50) in a mound matchup of right-handers. It will be the second bigleague start for Sims, who was called up from Class AAA Gwinnett this past week.
Lefty Max Fried said he “was shocked and surprised” that the big-league Braves promoted him from Double-A Mississippi, because he’s struggled this season with a blister. The 23-year-old, a career starter in the minors, will pitch out of the bullpen for Atlanta. The No. 7 overall draft pick of 2012, he was traded from San Diego to Atlanta in December 2014, four months after having Tommy John surgery.