Takeaways from Atlanta's comeback victory against the Marlins on Wednesday night
This lineup, man. There are no innings or at-bats off.
The Atlanta Braves put up the final six runs of the game to come back and defeat the Miami Marlins, 6-4, to win the series and set themselves up for a sweep to close the homestand on Thursday afternoon.
Here's what you need to know from the contest:
There is no quit in the Braves lineup
Atlanta's bats were held fairly quiet by Sandy Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner. He was cruising through five innings, allowing only three hits and one walk, staked to a 4-0 lead thanks to three solo home runs and a bases-loaded walk.
Ronald Acuña Jr decided to slam the breaks on Alcantara in the 6th inning.
RAJ hit a first pitch home run to centerfield, opening the floodgates on Alcantara. An Austin Riley double and two walks later, Alcantara was leaving the game with the Braves on the verge of breaking it open.
Atlanta went on to score the final six runs of the contest, two in the 6th and four more in the 8th to take an 8-6 lead that AJ Minter closed out in 12 pitches for his fifth save of the season.
For the game, Atlanta had six runs on nine hits, with all of those runs and 2/3rds of those hits coming in the 6th inning or later.
Bryce Elder pitched well
Elder got a no-decision for the game, leaving in the top of the 6th inning with one out and runners on 1st and 2nd...but he did his job, limiting the damage to three solo shots by the Marlins (Jesus Sanchez with a mammoth shot in the 2nd, Jazz Chisholm in the 3rd, and Avisail Garcia in the 4th) and an inherited runner being walked in by Michael Tonkin.
The man who was optioned down to AAA Gwinnett midway through camp so that Dylan Dodd and Jared Shuster could compete for the 5th starter's job has outlasted them all in Atlanta, allowing only six earned runs in his first five starts in the 2023 season. There's not going to be a shuttle back and forth to Gwinnett for Elder, who has pitched himself into a rotation spot every 5th day as long as he's healthy. It's reminiscent of Kyle Wright's emergence last year as a reliable starter that resulted in him leading all of MLB in wins, with 21, on his way to a 10th place finish in the Cy Young Award race in the National League.
Elder's final line was 5.1 innings pitched with five hits, four runs (all earned) and two walks to three strikeouts.
Vaughn Grissom continues to be clutch at the plate
The overall statline isn't great for Grissom (.270/.308/.297 entering tonight), but he's getting more confident by the day with a bat in his hands. He's picked up hits in all but two of the team's games he's played in since being called up to replace an injured Orlando Arcia, and is making believers out of Braves fans.
He's picked up three RBIs and a run in the two games of this Marlins series he's played in, and seems to be growing more comfortable in high-leverage situations. He was officially 2-4 tonight with two RBIs, including the eventual game-winner.
READ: Do the Atlanta Braves need to make a change at shortstop?
What's next?
Atlanta's goes for the series sweep tomorrow afternoon at 12:20 ET, broadcast on Bally Sports South. The radio call, with Ben Ingram, is available locally on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan or outside the Atlanta market on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network or MLB.com.
Stories from the series vs the Miami Marlins
WATCH: Eddie Rosario ties the game late!
WATCH: Matt Olson sends one into the Chop House to narrow the deficit to one
WATCH: Ronald Acuña Jr ends the shutout with a bomb off of Sandy Alcantara
Takeaways: Atlanta takes game two from Miami 7-4, secures at least a series split
WATCH: Eddie Rosario, Ozzie Albies go back-to-back to extend the Braves' lead in the eighth
WATCH: Ozzie Albies extends the lead with a solo homer
WATCH: Braves string together a big fourth-inning rally
WATCH: Speed kills as Ronald Acuña Jr. scores first run of the night for Atlanta
Takeaways: Spencer Strider leads Atlanta to game one win vs Miami
WATCH: Sean Murphy blasts a home run to take lead vs Miami Marlins
WATCH: Spencer Strider's dangerous slider gets 4th strikeout
WATCH: Spencer Strider had two nasty strikeouts early
Injury updates: Michael Harris, Collin McHugh nearing returns
Podcast: Ronald Acuña Jr deserves better from the Braves offense
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