Marlins ride Cabrera, six-run fourth to upset Braves

Back on April 23, Max Fried needed just 92 pitches to shut out the the Miami Marlins. The lineup he faced 107 days later was almost unrecognizable and inarguably less talented, yet the Braves left-hander would be anything but efficiently brilliant. Making his first start since July 11 following a stint on the injured list with forearm neuritis, Fried battled reduced fastball velocity and command issues, tying a career-high with five walks and being charged with 5 runs in his 3 ⅓ innings. 

This would prove more than enough for Edward Cabrera and Co., as Miami would ride a six-run fourth to a 7-0 victory to secure a series split in Atlanta. With the win, Miami concludes a winning road trip going 5-4 and improving to 42-70 overall.

"I'm really proud of the group," noted manager Skip Schumaker. "A lot of those guys are really just meeting each other for the first time...To put out that effort, you would never know what our record is." 

Cabrera Figures Out the Braves

After struggling to a 4.85 ERA in his first three career starts against them, Edward Cabrera put forth his best effort opposite the Braves the fourth time around. 

Featuring a fastball that routinely touched 98 mph, Cabrera showed no ill effects after departing his last start with a knee injury. He limited Atlanta to just 3 hits over 5 scoreless innings, striking out 8, walking a pair, and throwing a season-high 98 pitches en route to first career win over the Braves. Illustrative of Cabrera's dominance Sunday are the 18 whiffs he generated. 

The only real scoring threat against Cabrera came on an Austin Riley second-inning double initially thought to have scored Jorge Soler on a play ultimately challenged and overturned.

"He's got top-5 stuff in the league. Fastball 95-to-98 mph," Schumaker said. "We had a lot of (relievers) down, so for him to provide five innings was big for us."

Bats Do Damage

After failing to capitalize on three walks in the first three innings, the Marlins broke through against Fried in what would ultimately turn out to be a six-run top of the fourth.

Newly claimed Cristian Pache opened the scoring with his first Marlins hit, singling home Emmanuel Rivera (2-4, R) before a pair of run-scoring at-bats courtesy of Ali Sánchez and Xavier Edwards, the latter now hitting .382 after another multi-hit day Sunday. 

The hit of the day, though, would come courtesy of Jonah Bride, whose third home run in five games increased the Miami lead to 6. 

Of Note

- The win saw Miami pitchers shut out the opposing team for the sixth time this season. It was their first shutout since May 24. 

- Sunday marked the thirteenth multi-hit game of the season for Xavier Edwards through 31 games played. Luis Arraez had the same number of such games in his first 31 games to begin the 2023 season. Edwards' .382 average is the fourth-highest through a player's first 31 games of any season in Marlins history.

- Welcome back: Since commencing his second go-around with Miami, Jesus Tinoco has yet to allow a run over three appearances (3.1 IP). 

Looking Ahead

Miami will resume play at home on Monday when they begin a four-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Roddery Muñoz (2-3, 5.45 ERA) will get the first look at Cincinnati in the series opener. 

First pitch from loanDepot park is slated for 6:40 EST.