Rain delays mess with Latos' flow in Atlanta

ATLANTA -- Just when Mat Latos was finding consistency with his delivery, the rain messed with the flow of the game. It's one of those rough stretches for the Marlins where it seems like if it isn't one thing, it's another.

On Monday, it was the combination of the rain and pesky at-bats by the Braves that led to the latest Marlins setback, a 3-2 loss to the Braves at a soggy Turner Field.

Latos was aiming to start the 10-game road trip off on the right track in the series opener at Atlanta. The right-hander also was looking to bounce back from the shortest outing of his career -- two-thirds of an inning last Tuesday. For the most part, the veteran was moving in the right direction. But he didn't have the final results to show for it.

"My mechanics were good," said Latos, who allowed three runs (two earned) in four-plus innings. "I was able to pitch downhill. Keep my pitches mixed in when I needed them. A little rough with a couple of hitters, 3-0 counts and having to come back. All in all, everything felt fine."

From a technical pitching approach, things tracked nicely. But the conditions came into play.

"Bad day to pitch," Latos said. "Weather, rain delay, that [stinks] having to cool off and warm up in the bullpen again, come back out and kind of redo it all over again."

The game started 52 minutes late due to rain. And in the fourth inning, with Miami ahead by a run, a second delay of 39 minutes interrupted the action.

"I tried to stay warm as much as possible," Latos said. "Came in, immediately put my hoodie on. Went into the training room, got some heat packs. Just trying to keep everything warm. You come in, and you can't really stay relaxed."

Still, Monday's line was substantially better than Latos' debut. Last Tuesday at Marlins Park, he gave up seven runs while recording just two outs.

At Turner Field, he threw three scoreless innings before the Braves tied it after the rain delay. Latos faced two batters in the fifth, and he didn't record an out. Both runners came around to score against Sam Dyson, with Latos being charged with the runs.

As Latos noted, Atlanta's Shelby Miller endured the same hardship.

"He had to deal with the same thing," Latos said. "No excuses for me giving up three runs. It does stink to sit down and take that break and then get back into the swing of things."