Stat Wrap 6/30: Marlins Vs Braves- How Do You Think It Went?

Pretty sure that guy is telling his friends “Miami just can’t hang with us.”

Alright, maybe that’s just my imagination.  It certainly isn’t that funny.  But if I were to print what I actually thought about this loss, this seventh loss in nine tries against the worst team in the National League, I’d probably be looking for a new hobby on Monday.

In any event, the Miami Marlins once again found a way to lose to the Atlanta Braves, falling to their division foes 8-5 Thursday night at Turner Field.  The loss knocks the Marlins out of the Wild Card, and drops them to 6.5 back in the NL East.

More from Marlins News

• Why didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?
• Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offer
• Miami Marlins are pursuing Michael Conforto
• Miami Marlins need to spend to win
• Miami Marlins can’t afford to botch this trade

And just as the case has been in every other loss to the Braves this season, the Marlins had the lead in this one, only to blow it in rather gut wrenching fashion. Mike Dunn came on in the sixth to allow an inherited runner to come across the plate to tie the game, and wasted no time in providing the Braves with a two-run lead of their very own.  His ERA surged to 5.40, and the only thing that might possibly save Dunn from cleaning out his locker to make room for newly acquired reliever Fernando Rodney tomorrow morning would be the fact that he was born left handed.

Mother Nature could possibly take some of the blame here, as Miami had jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead before an eighty minute rain delay gummed up the works. Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen returned to the mound, and clearly was not the same pitcher; you have to figure his leash would have been a lot shorter had it not been for yesterday’s bullpen draining defeat in Detroit.

More from Marlin Maniac

• Why didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?
• Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offer
• Miami Marlins are pursuing Michael Conforto
• Miami Marlins need to spend to win
• Miami Marlins One-Year Wonder 1B

Offensively, little to report.  Justin Bour clubbed his 15th HR of the season pre-rain delay, providing the lion’s share of the scoring.  Giancarlo Stanton is hitless in his last two games, and for the third game in a row, the Marlins had double-digit figures in the LOB department.  I know Dee Gordon can’t play, but can he at least come in and “wake up the bats” again like he did last season?

And now we Stat Wrap:

• Ichiro Watch: No hits, but he did have an RBI on a sacrifice fly.
• The Marlins had 12 runners LOB; third game in a row they hit double digits.
• Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Stanton went a combined 0 for 11.
• Wei-Yin Chen took the loss, but you should point the finger at Mike Dunn.
• Marlins killer Nick Markakis went 2 for 5 with an RBI.
• Entering tonight’s game, Markakis was batting .367 against Miami this year.
• Justin Bour hit his 15th HR of the season, a 3-run shot.
• That moves him into the club RBI lead with 46 RBI.
• On an error by Martin Prado, the infield’s best in a century run of mistake free defense ended at 29 games.