Miami Marlins salvage series against Braves on Sunday

The Miami Marlins entered the series having won four consecutive series. That streak ended in Atlanta, but they managed to avoid the sweep.

After dropping the first two games of the series, the Miami Marlins were looking to avoid the sweep on Sunday. After a four-run first inning, they rode solid pitching to victory the rest of the way.

It was an encouraging sign against an Atlanta Braves team that has had their number all year. After failing to capitalize on home runs from Giancarlo Stanton in the first two games of the series, they used back-to-back long balls from Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto in the matinee finale.

They’ll travel to Washington to take on the Nationals next, riding a one-game winning streak.

There were a few interesting wrinkles in this game. Notably, Realmuto got the start at first base for the first time all season. After spending significant amounts of time there during spring training, it was only a matter of time before he appeared there in a regular season game.

He was kept behind the plate in large part due to the production the team was getting from Justin Bour. Bour’s ability to hit left-handed batters didn’t necessitate any platooning between Realmuto and Bour this season. With Bour out, and Tyler Moore struggling, Realmuto shined.

Jose Urena notched his team best 10th win as a starter. He never pitched from behind, and the Miami Marlins offense continued to give him all the support he could dream of.

After Stanton was hit on the back of the leg in the first inning, Christian Yelich drew a walk. That’s when Marcell Ozuna unloaded for his 26th home run of the season. Realmuto followed that up with his 13th of the season.

Wire-to-wire

It was a refreshing change of pace for the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon. After winning in nail-biting, come from behind type victories in recent weeks, this one was never in doubt. Urena allowed only three hits and one earned run through six innings. He was done after only 73 pitches.

Urena likely could have gone even longer, but Mattingly chose to stick to the script he’s followed all season. Jarlin Garcia, Junichi Tazawa, and Brad Ziegler bridged the gap for the win. Ziegler notched his second save since becoming the closer following the trade of AJ Ramos.

Next: Jarlin Garcia to the rotation nothing new

The Miami Marlins have been snakebitten by the Atlanta Braves all season. They managed to avoid the sweep and keep some of the momentum they came into the game with. They meet the Nationals in Washington for a four game set starting on Monday at 7:05 pm.