Power Hitting and Bullpen Key to Miami Marlins Victory in Atlanta

The Miami Marlins faced off against the Atlanta Braves in front of 35,618 at SunTrust Park on Saturday night, and came away with a 4-2 victory.

Sandy Alcantara got the start for the Miami Marlins, and had a lot of trouble with his control. He surrendered five walks without striking anyone out. This is after his first start, when he struck out six over eight shutout innings. In today’s game, he got 55-of-93 over the plate, and held the Braves to two runs despite allowing four hits along with the free passes. Here’s a few other things we learned in the victory.

Feast or Famine

Peter O’Brien and Jorge Alfaro went deep today. In fact, Alfaro went deep twice. O’Brien had struck out nine times in his first 14 at bats before today’s game, but he did not strike out today. He’s still two-for-17 on the season. Alfaro’s splits aren’t nearly as dire. Now seven-for-25 on the season, with 10 strikeouts (and zero walks), Alfaro leads the Miami Marlins with three round-trippers.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 06: Peter O’Brien #45 of the Miami Marlins hugs his teammate Martin Prado #14 against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust on April 06, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /

A Big Relief

After Alcantara’s adventure, the Miami Marlins relied on a quintet of pitchers to get through the final five innings of today’s game. They did not disappoint, striking out seven while holding Atlanta scoreless. Tayron Guerrero pitched the fifth, walking one and striking one batter out while getting nine-of-16 pitches over the plate. Nick Anderson allowed a walk and a hit, striking out two in the sixth with 10-of-15 offerings in the zone.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 05: Drew Steckenrider #71 of the Miami Marlins pitches during the game against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on April 05, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images) /

Drew Steckenrider’s seventh inning was heartening. He tossed a perfect frame and struck a pair out, lowering his ERA to 7.20 for the season. Sergio Romo, who earned the Miami Marlins victory, struck out one in 1 1/3 perfect innings. Adam Conley got the save despite surrendering a walk and a hit.

MIAMI, FL – MARCH 30: Martin Prado #14 of the Miami Marlins singles for an rbi in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Marlins Park on March 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Prado’s Pride

After finishing Spring Training with 10 hits in his final 22 plate appearances, Martin Prado has carried that hot streak into the regular season. Nine-for-17 entering today, Prado drew a walk in his only plate appearance while pinch-hitting for Steckenrider in the eighth.

Despite his recent track record of time missed due to injury, Prado has always been a good hitter. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit .300 over the full campaign with somewhere in the neighborhood of 400 plate appearances.

Minor Victories

Riley Mahan walked off the Palm Beach Cardinals with a two-run homer in the bottom of the 10th for an 8-7 victory. It was his second home run of the game. In New Orleans, the Baby Cakes earned a split of seven-inning contests against the Round Rock Express, losing 7-5 then winning 2-1. The Clinton Lumberkings topped the Kane County Cougars, by a 6-1 final score, behind top-notch pitching from Humberto Mejia and George Soriano. In Jacksonville, the Jackson Generals and the Jumbo Shrimp got suspended due to rain after half of the first inning was in the books.

Tomorrow’s game starts early, at 1:20PM EST, and the Miami Marlins will be trying to take the series with their efforts. Caleb Smith will take the hill against Sean Newcomb.

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