Stanton's 4 RBIs help Marlins solve Braves
ATLANTA -- Giancarlo Stanton drove in four runs and accounted for some of the damage Trevor Cahill incurred during a three-run first inning that propelled the Marlins to a 8-2 win over the Braves on Tuesday night at Turner Field.
Cahill, who was acquired from the D-backs on March 31, extended last year's woes as he allowed four runs and exited after issuing Marcell Ozuna a bases-loaded walk with one out in the third. Dee Gordon fueled the Marlins' offense with a pair of singles and a sixth-inning sacrifice fly that accounted for the last of the two runs Braves reliever Sugar Ray Marimon surrendered while completing four innings in his Major League debut.
Video: MIA@ATL: Gordon shows off wheels on infield single
Marlins starting pitcher Tom Koehler scattered six hits over 5 1/3 innings against the Braves, who had won six of their previous seven games, including each of the four played against Miami. Atlanta's offense was limited to the back-to-back homers Freddie Freeman and A.J. Pierzynski hit in the fourth inning.
"We were able to come out early and put some pressure on them, score some runs," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "I think that was a big lift for us, took some of the pressure off, no doubt. We put together some great at-bats, got a little momentum going. We were able to get on the bases and run around a little bit. We even had some opportunities to add on runs. I'm very happy with the way we played."
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Stanton scraps face guard: Stanton didn't wear the customized face guard on his helmet for his eighth-inning at-bat. The result: a two-run double. Earlier in the game, he wore it. Stanton entered in an 0-for-12 rut, but the slugger laced an RBI single to center, opening the scoring in the first inning. Stanton had three hits, including a double, and four RBIs. He also drew a couple of walks, and he added a run-scoring single to right in the fourth inning. More >
Video: MIA@ATL: Stanton plates a pair with sharp double
Back-to-back: Koehler had surrendered just two hits before allowing consecutive home runs to Freeman and Pierzynski within a span of three pitches in the fourth inning. Pierzynski had also hit a decisive two-run homer off the Marlins right-hander last week in Miami.
Video: MIA@ATL: Pierzynski launches solo homer to right
Koehler delivers: Battling through rain and a pesky Braves lineup, Koehler gave the Marlins the quality innings needed to snap their three-game losing streak. The right-hander allowed two runs on the homers in the fourth inning.
Squandered opportunity: After chasing Koehler by loading the bases in the sixth, the Braves were unable to do damage against reliever A.J. Ramos, who induced Kelly Johnson's lazy pop fly and ended the inning with Andrelton Simmons' lineout to left field.
QUOTABLE
"We're a team or an offense that if we get too far behind, it's going to be hard for us to put numbers up. We're an offense when we're even or within a run, you can do some stuff. You can run or hit-and-run to create some opportunities. We had a chance to get back in it and we didn't get it done." -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez
"If I was going to say I wasn't thinking about it, I'd be lying. There was a time in the fourth, it was raining pretty good and I wasn't sure what was going to go on. Those are always tough because you never want to waste a game. Anytime you only get to go two or three [innings] because it's raining, you almost feel like you wasted the game. That's why I tried to force the contact as early as I could to try and get guy the guys back in the dugout and let's just keep moving. They were swinging and taking such good at-bats, I was just trying to get them in there [the dugout] as fast as possible." -- Koehler, on trying to get through the fifth inning to make the game official.
BACK TO NORMAL
Freeman's fourth-inning home run gave him six hits in 18 at-bats against the Marlins this year. The All-Star first baseman needed 60 at-bats to tally six hits against Miami last year.
Video: MIA@ATL: Freeman hammers solo shot to right field
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
When Gordon bounced into a 6-4-3 double play in the second inning, it was just the 10th time in 1,352 plate appearances that he grounded into a double play.
WHAT'S NEXT
Marlins: Dan Haren, 6-2 with a 4.50 ERA in his career against the Braves, closes out the series with Atlanta on Wednesday at 12:10 p.m. ET. Catcher J.T. Realmuto, called up on Monday from Triple-A New Orleans, is expected to make his first start.
Home team: Eric Stults will take the mound as the Braves attempt to conclude this three-game set by opening the season with three consecutive series victories.
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