Pitchers push Braves to win
MIAMI — Nursing a lead in the game and in the NL East standings, the Atlanta Braves monitored the out-of-town scoreboard as they finished off the Miami Marlins.
“Absolutely,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “We’ve been waiting four years to do this — check the out-of-town. So it’s nice.”
Although it has been a while since Atlanta contended for a postseason spot, this year’s team shows no signs of fading. Kevin Gausman and four relievers combined on a two-hitter Sunday afternoon as the Braves won 4-0 despite an ongoing offensive slump.
Atlanta headed home after a 5-2 road trip with a three-game lead over the second-place Philadelphia Phillies, who beat the Blue Jays in Toronto while the Braves were taking down the Marlins. The Braves salvaged a split in Miami even though they scored just seven earned runs during the fourgame series.
“It’s nice to work it out that way,” Atlanta catcher Tyler Flowers said. “If you’re going to struggle offensively, you hope that’s the time your pitching is on top of everything. We’ve kind of been able to do it that way.”
Gausman (4-1) threw 80 pitches in five innings before departing for a pinch-hitter with the score 1-0.
“It looked like he had everything going,” Snitker said. “It was a shame we didn’t score many runs. It looked like he would have probably finished the game.”
Gausman won his fourth start in a row and has an ERA of 1.69 in five outings since Atlanta acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles on July 31.
“I’m feeling comfortable with everything I’m doing right now,” he said.
The Marlins’ first hit was a
third-inning single by pitcher Pablo Lopez, and Derek Dietrich singled with two outs in the ninth inning.
“Pitching was good,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We just weren’t able to get anything going offensively.”
It was a familiar refrain. Miami managed four runs and 16 hits in the series.
Atlanta wasn’t much more productive, totaling one run in a 27-inning stretch before scoring in the sixth against Lopez (2-4). Nick Markakis led off with a walk, advanced on a groundout and scored on a two-out single by Flowers.
The Braves added three unearned runs in the eighth. Two scored when first baseman Dietrich made an errant throw home after fielding a grounder with the bases loaded.
Atlanta rookie Ronald Acuna Jr. had two hits and made a diving catch in left field to rob Starlin Castro of a hit. Flowers added two hits for the Braves, who finished 14-5 against last-place Miami this year.
The Braves host a twogame series against Tampa Bay starting Tuesday, and today is their first day off since Aug. 6 — a break Snitker said “will be welcome.”