Braves Battle Max Meyer, Umpiring to Drop Game Two to Miami Marlins

The Atlanta Braves couldn't get anything going offensively in this one and lost to an impressive outing by one of Miami's young studs

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Max Meyer picked up the win with six strong innings against the Atlanta Braves. / Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves couldn’t get the offense going against Miami Marlins starter Max Meyer and dropped Saturday’s game two by the score of 5-1 

Here’s what you need to know about from the contest.

Chris Sale got victimized...but it wasn’t his fault. 

Atlanta’s newest lefty starter went seven complete innings, being charged with five runs on five hits, walking three and striking out six. He featured the changeup a lot more than usual (23% usage), throwing eighteen of them and getting four whiffs on the pitch.  

The fifth inning is where things got away from Sale. Having gotten two easy outs, Sale gave up a single and two walks to load the bases. The very next batter, Bryan De Le Cruz, laced a first-pitch double into the left field corner to empty the bases and push Miami’s lead to five runs. 

Except...Jake Burger should have struck out to end the inning, and Chris Sale knew it. He was yelling at home plate umpire Brian O’Nora, to the point that pitching coach Rick Kranitz came for a mound visit to defuse the tension between pitcher and umpire. 

See for yourself how pitches three and five, if called correctly, would have ended the inning: 

The walk to load the bases with two outs.

Marlins plate all three runners on the very next pitch. pic.twitter.com/I4LxUEvLqE

— Bally Sports South (@BallySportsSO) April 13, 2024

This wasn’t the only incidence of missed ball and strike calls today, but it was the most impactful in the game. Triple-A’s ABS challenge system, which allows the batter, catcher, or pitcher to instantly challenge an incorrect ball or strike call and get it reversed if they are correct, can’t come to MLB soon enough. 

Atlanta’s seemingly trying to set a record for doubles

Just a day after hitting five doubles and only one homer in an 8-1 win, Atlanta once again struggled to get balls out of the ballpark. The Braves hit two more doubles and a triple (by Austin Riley) in the contest, but no homers. 

Ronald Acuña Jr, who doesn’t have a homer on the year, had a ‘bad luck’ double in the 5th inning. He absolutely LAUNCHED a ball - 113.2 mph off the bat at a 17 degree launch angle, traveling 386 feet but falling for a double. It would have been a homer in 25 of 30 ballparks, including Atlanta’s Truist Park, but wasn’t out of Miami’s spacious outfield. Atlanta promptly stranded Acuña at second base in the inning, one of their five runners left on base in this one. 

Atlanta leads all of MLB with forty doubles on the season, despite having played in only twelve games. 

Max Meyer CARVED up Atlanta

The Miami Marlins’s rotation has struggled with multiple starting pitcher injuries, including to Sandy Alcantara (Tommy John), Eury Pérez (Tommy John), Braxton Garrett (shoulder) and Edward Cabrera (shoulder). 

But Max Meyer, who was called up early in the season to reinforce the rotation after all those injuries, might be a DUDE. The 25 year-old went six full innings, striking out seven and allowing only one run on six hits, not walking any Braves. As we discussed in the preview, Meyer featured the slider heavily - he threw 49 of them (51% usage) and got twelve whiffs and six additional called strikes on the pitch. He also used it to hold Atlanta to an 0-4 showing with runners in scoring position during his outing, with the only Braves run coming on a sacrifice after Austin Riley led off the sixth inning with a triple.

Per MLB.com Marlins beat writer Christina De Nicola, Meyer’s 23 total whiffs in the game is tied with Texas Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi for the most whiffs in a single game this season.  

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

Atlanta’s back at it tomorrow for the series finale against the Miami Marlins, with Charlie Morton taking on lefty Jesús Luzardo. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 PM.