ATL 5, MIA 11: Burger, Chisholm blasts knock out Braves late

With two early home runs from improbable power sources and two late ones from more established sluggers, the Miami Marlins defeated the mighty Atlanta Braves again on Saturday. A Marlins team that needs to convert every close game into a victory from here on out in pursuit of a postseason berth has played with the necessary urgency this weekend.

It took approximately three minutes for the Braves to bash Bryan Hoeing for three runs. Michael Harris II led off with a double, then Ozzie Albies and Austin Riley both homered. When a Mel Stottlemyre Jr. mound visit was followed by a five-pitch walk to Matt Olson, it was only natural to fear that this game was careening toward a blowout.

However, Hoeing thrived the rest of the way. He retired 13 of the final 14 Braves hitters he faced. After paying the price for a few elevated pitches down the middle of the plate, he began locating more precisely along the edges of the zone.

Hoeing's final line: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 2 HR (64 pitches/38 strikes).

The Marlins offense this season has made a habit of awakening in the later innings, but for the second straight game, they uncharacteristically saw immediate results.

Recently recalled Jared Shuster gave up a four-spot in the bottom of the first. Luis Arraez hit a solo homer. Facing unconventional cleanup hitter Yuli Gurriel with two runners aboard, Shuster tried to steal a strike with a first-pitch slider. Gurriel saw it coming all the way.

The Marlins stretched their advantage to 5-3 in the third. Garrett Hampson singled home Jake Burger (the Braves challenged the play at the plate, but the call was upheld).

That's not okay

Steven Okert had allowed only one home run to a left-handed batter all season entering this game. Well, Harris and Olson are no ordinary lefties. They launched solo shots off of Okert in the fifth and sixth innings, respectively. The latter tied the score at 5-5 and also established a new Braves record for home runs by a player in a single season.

Okert's September is shaping up to be arguably the worst month of his three-season Marlins tenure. Opposing hitters are 10-for-24 (.417 BA) against him since the calendar flipped.

Both teams threatened to take the lead over the next couple innings, but couldn't quite break through.

In the bottom of the sixth, Arraez ran into an out when attempting to go first to third on a Josh Bell single. Had he conservatively stayed at second, the subsequent single by Burger almost certainly would've driven him in.

Andrew Nardi struggled in the top of the eighth. Relying heavily on his fastball despite having lower velocity than usual, he loaded the bases on a single, walk and hit-by-pitch. Skip Schumaker called upon the incredible Tanner Scott with two outs and he escaped the jam by getting Orlando Arcia to ground out.

Well done, Burger

Atlanta's Kirby Yates sat down the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth before yielding a walk to Bell. Dane Myers entered to pinch-run for Bell, which looked to be a hugely consequential move when Burger smoked a line drive to center field.

Would Myers be able to score from first for the go-ahead run?! Well yeah, because the 113 mph bullet off of Burger's bat landed on the other side of the fence.

As if 7-5 was not a sufficient cushion for Scott in the ninth, Jazz Chisholm Jr. put the nail in Atlanta's coffin with a grand slam against Michael Tonkin.

Additional Info

• For the first time this season, Ronald Acuña Jr. sat out a game for the Braves after experiencing right calf tightness on Friday. For Miami, the durable Bryan De La Cruz was sidelined with right ankle discomfort.

• Luis Arraez became the third player in Marlins history to hit leadoff home runs in back-to-back games, according to Marlins Communications, joining Hanley Ramírez (2006) and Miguel Rojas (2019).

• Chisholm stuffed the box score by going 2-for-3 with two walks and three stolen bases. The Marlins entered the day as the only MLB team this season that still hadn't hit a grand slam. Jazz now finds himself in the company of Mike Cameron (2002) as the only players of the modern era to record a GS and 3 SB in the same game (per ESPN Stats & Info).

• Poor Josh Simpson has been available out of the Marlins bullpen for the last five games, but still hasn't debuted. You could've made the case for him to get his feet wet in The Show by handling the ninth with a six-run advantage.

• No doubt helped by LoanDepot Park's annual Dominican heritage celebration, the Marlins drew an announced crowd of 24,329.

The season series between these clubs concludes on Sunday at 1:40 p.m. Probable starters are Jesús Luzardo and Charlie Morton. It'll be Morton's 24th career start against the Fish.

The Marlins are seeking to sweep a three-game series from the Braves for the first time in eight years (Sept. 25-27, 2015).

Photo by Danis Sosa/Fish On First