Marlins' offense slow out of the gate
Only three runs scored in opening series vs. Braves
MIAMI -- Braves right-hander Shelby Miller helped his cause on Wednesday with his arm and his foot. If not for an inadvertent kick on Christian Yelich's grounder in the third inning, Miami likely would have taken an early lead.
Not much went the Marlins' way in the series, and Miller's kick saved a run in a game the Braves went on to win, 2-0.
"That gets through, we score a run right there," Yelich said. "He knocks it down with his foot, and holds it to an infield single. He's able to get out of it. It hasn't been bouncing our way, but we'll be all right."
The Marlins' best chance off Miller was in the third. With two outs, Dee Gordon singled and stole second. Yelich did get a single, but that redirect off Miller's shoe prevented the ball from going into center. Giancarlo Stanton walked to load the bases but the threat ended when Michael Morse's hard ground ball was in range of shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who flipped to second for the inning-ending forceout.
"We had good at-bats, and hit the ball hard," Yelich said. "A few of them, right at guys. That's baseball. We kind of hit a little bit of a rough skid right out of the gate. I thought we had good at-bats tonight, though. Sometimes the balls don't fall. A couple of those drop in, and you never know what will happen."
The Marlins were limited to just three runs in the series, and had two extra-base hits. One was a double by Henderson Alvarez, who scored the team's only run on Opening Day. On Tuesday, Atlanta rolled to a 12-2 win.
Miami's other extra-base hit was an RBI pinch-hit triple by Donovan Solano on Tuesday. It came with Atlanta ahead by seven runs.
"These guys, I know they're frustrated," manager Mike Redmond said. "This is not how we anticipated the start of the season, but it's the reality. These guys have always responded. They've always been able to turn the page. I'm looking for us to be able to do that on Friday."