Late Rally Stokes Miami Marlins to Victory Over Braves

A four-run ninth inning preceded an extra inning walkoff win for the Miami Marlins.

The Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves matched zeroes on the scoreboard through the first seven innings in front of a crowd of 29,720 at Marlins Park on Saturday night. Starting pitchers Sandy Alcantara and Mike Soroka went back and forth, bending but not breaking until the eighth frame. Charlie Culbertson started that inning with a one-out single. After an intentional walk and a Matt Joyce strikeout, Ozzie Albies opened the scoring with an RBI-double. Freddie Freeman followed with a two-run single to put the game seemingly out of reach. Alcantara finished with six strikeouts and allowed the three runs on five hits and two walks, getting 78-of-106 pitches over the plate.

Soroka was more than a match for Alcantara, going seven shutout three-hit innings for the Braves. He struck out six Miami Marlins along the way before giving way to the Braves bullpen.

After a Bryan Holiday lineout to open the Marlins eighth, Curtis Granderson hit a pinch-homer to get them on the board. Jon Berti followed with a single, Isan Diaz drew a walk, then Brian Anderson scored Berti on a single.

With the deficit reduced to one, Johan Camargo hit a three-run ninth inning homer to put the bad guys up by four, again putting the game – out of reach.

But not so fast, right? Mark Melancon, newly appointed as Atlanta’s closer, started the inning out by striking out Harold Ramirez. The Marlins then strung together consecutive singles from Martin Prado, Holaday, Granderson, Berti, and Isan Diaz, which set the score at 6-4.

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That set the stage for a Starlin Castro double, that scored Granderson and Berti. Diaz, trying to score from first, was pegged at home to force extra innings.

Jeff Brigham wiped out the Braves order, 1-2-3 with a strikeout, then Ramirez opened the bottom of the 10th with a single. Reliever Sean Newcomb tried to pick him off at first base, but tossed it instead into foul territory next to right field. Ramirez made it all the way to third base, then Prado drove him home with a sacrifice fly for the Marlins fourth walkoff victory of the 2019 season.

Ryne Stanek walked four and was responsible for the ninth inning Braves runs, and Brinson went 0-for-3. Granderson, Berti, Diaz and Ramirez all collected a pair of hits in the victory, which puts the Marlins in position to take the four game series with a win tomorrow.

The first pitch is set for 1:10PM EDT, and Hector Noesi (0-1, 9.00) is scheduled to take the hill for his second Miami Marlins start.

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