With home runs from Albies and Urshela, the Atlanta Braves narrowly upset the Miami Marlins 5-4.
On Sunday, Michael Harris II led the Atlanta Braves to a 5-4 victory over the Miami Marlins with a triple, a single, and the game-winning run in the seventh inning.
With two singles and an RBI, Matt Olson led the Braves (85-71) who began the day two games behind the New York Mets for the third NL wild card slot. Gio Urshela and Ozzie Albies also hit home runs. On Tuesday, the Braves will start a three-game series against the Mets at home.
Braves manager Brian Snitker commented, “This is one of the hardest fought games that I have been a part of in a long time.” “The boys did a really excellent job of stepping up,”
With the bases loaded and facing Declan Cronin (3-4), Jorge Soler hit an infield single in the seventh inning to drive in Harris from third and give the Braves the lead.
In the bottom half, the Marlins loaded the bases with no outs against Aaron Bummer. After Bummer attempted and failed to force a force out at third, Nick Fortes reached on a sacrifice, and Otto López and Derek Hill each singles.
Bummer got Xavier Edwards out before Daysbel Hernández in and got Jesús Sánchez to line out to right and strike out Connor Norby.
Raisel Iglesias, the closer for the Braves, completed the final two innings to record his 32nd save, making it his sixth appearance of the season.
Iglesias remarked in Spanish, “Pitching two innings is not the same as pitching one.” “You need to approach the eighth with greater composure when you get there. Then, with greater aggression in the ninth, you finish the job by pitching two scoreless innings.
After collecting the final three outs in the sixth inning, Pierce Johnson (6-5) sealed the victory.
Catcher Sean Murphy of the Braves observed, “That was a grind-out game.” “We made full use of the bullpen. There was back and forth. They never turned the tables on us. It was one of those games that was enjoyable to both play and win.
In the sixth inning, Norby and Sánchez hit back-to-back home runs for the Marlins to tie the game at four. But Miami (57-99) was 0 for 7 when there were runners in scoring position, and Atlanta prevailed 9–4 in the series.
According to Norby, “we were fighting our way back the entire game and just could not get a swing when we needed it.”
The fifth inning saw Harris hit a tying RBI triple and then score on Olson’s single to erase a 2-1 deficit.
Urshela hit his second consecutive home run with a solo shot in the sixth, increasing Atlanta’s lead.
Against Braves starter Grant Holmes, Jake Burger blasted a solo home run to give the Marlins a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning. Jonah Bride’s home run in the second inning gave Miami a 1-1 lead.
In four more innings, Holmes gave up two runs and three hits while striking out five and walking one.
Albies, who missed two months due to an injury, was back on the injured list on Friday.
Snitker predicted that he will grow better with more at-bats. “Seeing the breaking ball and the spin is important.”
Over four innings, McCaughan gave up four hits and one run. The right-hander hit one batter, struck out five, and walked one.
The Marlins had 20,104 fans in their final home game of the season, for a total attendance of 1,085,055, which is higher than just the Oakland A’s and ranks 29th in Major League Baseball.
In 2023, the Marlins played 162 games and attracted 1,162,819 fans as they snapped a 20-year playoff drought.
It seems possible that Skip Schumaker’s final home game as the Marlins manager occurred on Sunday. Prior to the season, the team and the current NL Manager of the Year, Schumaker, decided to void the third year of his contract.
