MIAMI -- There's still a heartbeat, albeit a faint one. The Marlins are still alive and kicking in the National League Wild Card race after snapping the Braves' seven-game win streak with a 6-4 victory on Saturday night at Marlins Park.
With seven games remaining, the Marlins remained five back of the Giants for the final Wild Card spot.
Derek Dietrich knocked his seventh homer of the season, a two-run blast in the first inning that gave the Marlins a 2-1 lead. Dee Gordon collected two hits, stole three bases -- giving him 26 for the season -- and scored twice to help the Marlins build a 5-2 lead. He reached base four times, including two walks.
"What I liked about tonight is he was willing to take his walks," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "Really, what you want is your leadoff hitter to get on base, it doesn't matter how, because he's going to cause havoc when he's out there [on base]."
Gordon said it was nice to see the Marlins, who stole five bases, return to the kind of game that they know they can play.
"That's how we really wanted to go most nights," Gordon said. "We'd been scuffling a little bit, so to have everybody clicking, getting guys over, timely hitting, it was good for us tonight."
• Dee shows flashes of old self

The Braves struck first on a first-inning RBI single by Freddie Freeman. Atlanta's first baseman extended his hitting streak to 28 games, the longest active stretch in the Majors. Freeman has also reached base in 44 consecutive contests. Both are career highs. He also belted a solo homer to open the sixth inning as the Braves sliced into Miami's 5-2 lead.
"We're in every game," Freeman said. "We've been doing that for a couple months now. It doesn't matter how many runs we get down, we're still in this thing. We made it another ballgame here again. We had our chances."

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Much-needed insurance:J.T. Realmuto added an insurance run in the seventh inning on an infield single that scored pinch-runner Yefri Pérez to give the Marlins a 6-4 cushion. Perez was in for Giancarlo Stanton, who is still recovering from a grade 3 left groin strain and led off the inning with a single while using Marcell Ozuna's bat.
"They kept chipping away, and then we were able to get another one," Mattingly said. "That was big because it takes a little pressure off of you when you have that two-run lead instead of the one. You have to continue to tack on and continue to move forward with the game because you can't assume anything in it."

Perez stole second and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on Realmuto's infield bouncer.

Quick start: Freeman provided the Braves with an early lead with his first-inning single and then brought them back within two runs with his sixth-inning homer off former Atlanta teammate Hunter Cervenka. Freeman's hitting streak is the second-longest recorded this year in the Majors, trailing only the 29-game stretch by Red Sox outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.  More >

Get it right: Dietrich blasted a 3-2 pitch above the 335-foot sign in right field in the first inning. Originally ruled in play, a brief conference of umpires concluded that Dietrich's hit was in fact a home run. Gordon, who opened the inning with a walk, also scored to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead.
"Without saying it in a bad way, he kind of gets in his own way," Mattingly said. "It seems like when he's not getting his hits, it really bothers him. When he's going good, he seems to be able to ride that, just kind of ride that momentum."

Bad audition: Braves starter Aaron Blair's bid to make another good impression quickly fizzled as he allowed five earned runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings. Dansby Swanson prevented at least one run from scoring with a diving grab to end the third inning, but Blair's outing ended soon after he surrendered three straight singles to begin the two-run fourth. The former prospect's stock has quickly dropped this year as he has given up at least five earned runs in six of his past 10 starts, dating back to May 17.
"I just didn't have the command I had five days ago," said Blair, who notched his first career victory on Monday in New York. "I kind of got myself in trouble walking the leadoff hitter [in the first inning]. I was falling behind and putting myself in bad situations."

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Freeman's 32 homers ties him with Adam LaRoche (2006) for the most hit by a Braves left-handed hitter during the Turner Field era (since 1997).
REPLAY REVIEW
The Braves issued an unsuccessful challenge after Realmuto stole second base with two outs in the seventh inning. The call stood after replays did not provide conclusive evidence Dansby Swanson applied the tag before Realmuto reached the base.

WHAT'S NEXT
Braves:Julio Teheran will take the mound when these two teams conclude this four-game series on Sunday afternoon. Teheran has allowed five earned runs in two of the three starts made against the Marlins this year. First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. ET.
Marlins: Miami sends lefty Adam Conley (8-6, 3.94 ERA) to the mound on Sunday to close out the four-game series with Atlanta. It will be Conley's first start since going on the disabled list on Aug. 14 with tendonitis in his left middle finger.
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