Marlins offense boosts Turner in victory over Braves

ATLANTA -- Jacob Turner made a strong bid to remain in the rotation, and he also provided the Marlins with a bit of offense.

Turner allowed two runs in five innings, striking out four, and doubled and scored Tuesday night in Miami's 6-5 win over the Braves at Turner Field.

With his arm and his bat, Turner gave the Marlins enough of an early lift to help them claim the first two games in the four-game set. They have won three straight for the first time since they rolled off four in a row from June 2-5.

"A good team win," Turner said. "These games are important for us. Coming up to the end of the month here, it's crucial that we win these."

The Marlins are scrambling to close in on the .500 mark, and gain momentum before the July 31 non-waiver Trade Deadline.

Steve Cishek closed out the ninth by striking out pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit. But the big play in the inning came when catcher Jeff Mathis threw out pinch-runner Jordan Schafer trying to steal second with no outs. Chris Johnson singled to open the ninth, and the speedy Schafer pinch-ran.

Cishek threw over to first four straight times before Schafer took off. Mathis' accurate throw hopped, but shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria gathered the ball and applied the tag.

"Obviously, Schafer, we knew he was running," Mathis said. "So we threw over there a few times. He was going right away, so we at least, maybe, bought ourselves a half a step."

Cishek's 23rd save in 26 chances enabled Turner to improve to 3-6 and likely retain a spot in the rotation.

"He threw well tonight," Atlanta's Jason Heyward said of the Miami right-hander. "The All-Star break did him some good. I feel like all of their pitchers in these first two games have thrown pretty well. I don't think we had too many opportunities. But sometimes, you've got to take advantage of the ones you've got. Sometimes, it's not going to happen. "

Making his first start since June 11 at Texas, Turner kept the Braves in check for five innings, allowing two runs on four hits. The 23-year-old finished strong, retiring 13 of the final 15 batters he faced.

Prior to Tuesday, Turner was 2-4 with a 6.38 ERA in nine starts.

"I think we believe in the guys that we have in our rotation," Redmond said. "We've all seen them pitch great. We know that it's in there. With young guys, you've got to stay with them. You've got to let them pitch, and let them work through it."

The big blast Turner allowed was a solo homer to Justin Upton with two outs in the third inning.

"After that first, I kind of settled down," Turner said. "There was the one pitch to Upton he didn't miss. Other than that, I felt good out there. I felt strong getting back up and down, which I hadn't done in a while. Overall, I was happy with it."

Because he hadn't started in six weeks, Turner was on a pitch limit of around 85. He exited after 82.

Miami carried a four-run lead into the eighth inning, but the Braves scored three times, with all the runs charged to Mike Dunn. Tommy La Stella delivered an RBI single, and with two outs off Bryan Morris, Heyward slapped a two-run single.

The Marlins rocked lefty Mike Minor for six runs on 10 hits in three-plus innings.

Donovan Solano enjoyed a career-high four hits, including a ground-rule RBI double in the third inning. The utility infielder previously had 12 three-hit games.

Christian Yelich's hustle on a slow grounder to second base led to an infield single to open the night for Miami. Yelich started a string of three straight singles. Solano and Giancarlo Stanton followed, loading the bases with no outs. The Marlins managed one run, which scored when Casey McGehee tapped into a 6-4-3 double play.

With the score tied at 1, Miami sent eight to the plate and scored three times in the third. Stanton had an RBI double, McGehee drove in a run with a groundout and Jeff Baker chipped in with a run-scoring single.

Miami tacked on two runs in the fourth inning, with Turner getting things going with a leadoff double. He scored on Yelich's single to center. Marcell Ozuna had a run-scoring grounder to short.

"This is a big series," Turner said. "Definitely a crucial win today."