ATLANTA — Don Mattingly remained steadfast that the Atlanta Braves, despite their sub-.500 record two weeks into the season, are still the team to beat in the National League East as his Miami Marlins made their way into Truist Park this weekend.
“The last time I looked, they’re the ones that won that championship last year,” the manager said Friday prior to the series opener. “Until they haven’t, they’re the champs. They’re still the bar our division looks at. Nobody’s going to look at 12 games or however many they played and say the Braves aren’t part of this. For sure, they’re that team.”
While the season is still young, the Marlins made an early statement by taking two of three games against the Braves in their first meeting of the season. Miami clinched the series by holding on for a 5-4 win on Sunday after dropping the series opener 3-0 and winning a back-and-forth affair on Saturday 9-7.
The Marlins are 7-8. The Braves are 7-10.
“To give us a chance to take the series is really what you’re talking about,” Mattingly said Sunday. “For your club, you just want to kind of continue to try to win series and get on that type of roll. That’s what you’re looking for: Start winning series, and over the course of time, you’re going to be in good shape.”
So far, Miami has won just two of five series they have played this season, but both have been against divisional opponents. They took three of four against the Philadelphia Phillies at loanDepot park and two of three against the Braves this weekend with series losses to the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels and St. Louis Cardinals mixed in.
The Braves scored three runs in the ninth against Tanner Scott. Travis Demerritte reached first on a strikeout/wild pitch, got to third on an Ozzie Albies double and scored on a Matt Olson sacrifice fly. Austin Riley then belted out a two-run home run to cut Miami’s lead to one run.
Louis Head then gave up a double to Marcell Ozuna to put the game-tying run in scoring position but struck out Adam Duvall and Eddie Rosario to secure the series win and his first career MLB save.
After missed opportunities early on Sunday — including a pair of bases-loaded situations in the second and fourth innings that resulted in no runs —Miami scored five runs over a three-inning span from the fifth to the seventh to pull ahead for good.
Garrett Cooper paced the offense with three hits, two RBI, a walk and a run scored one day after his seventh-inning pinch-hit, two-run single gave Miami its go-ahead run on Saturday to even the series. Cooper did not have a hit with runners in scoring position this season before Saturday.
Joey Wendle also had a multi-hit game, knocking a pair of doubles, while Avisail Garcia and Jacob Stallings each recorded an RBI.
Jon Berti reached base three times on a walk, single and triple.
On the mound, Jesus Luzardo held the Braves to one run on two hits and four walks while striking out eight over five innings. He breezed through the first four innings before getting into a jam in the fifth when he walked the bases loaded with one out. Luzardo limited the damage to just one run on a Matt Olson groundout before striking out Austin Riley, who had hit a pair of doubles off Luzardo already to that point in the game, to end the inning.
The bullpen threw three scoreless innings before the Braves began their rally attempt in the ninth that fell short.
Injury update
— Shortstop Miguel Rojas sat for the second consecutive game with flu-like symptoms.
— Relief pitcher Anthony Bender has been dealing with hip soreness. Bender said he he began experiencing during his last relief appearance on Wednesday, an outing in which he gave up a go-ahead two-run home run to Nolan Arenado in the ninth inning of the Marlins’ 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. The right-handed reliever said he is feeling better, but the Marlins are being cautious.
— Dylan Floro threw 23 pitches over 2/3 of an inning Saturday in his first rehab assignment appearance for the Single A Jupiter Hammerheads as he continues to work his way back from right rotator cuff tendinitis.
Next up
The Marlins are off Monday before starting a three-game series against the Washington Nationals to cap this road trip.
