Max Meyer keeps Braves under control in Marlins’ victory.
Max Meyer pitched six impressive innings to help lead the Miami Marlins to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Atlanta Braves on Saturday.
Meyer (2-0) threw six innings of six-hit, one-run ball, while striking out seven and walking none. Miami left fielder Bryan De La Cruz finished 2-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead the offense to a win after Friday’s 8-1 loss to the Braves.
After Meyer pitched a scoreless top of the first, Miami cracked the scoring first with Josh Bell’s home run off Braves starter Chris Sale in the bottom half of the inning.
In the second, Avisail Garcia and Emmanuel Rivera began the inning with back-to-back singles before Christian Bethancourt struck out. Vidal Brujan then drove in Miami’s second run on a single to left field, which Atlanta’s Jarred Kelenic bobbled, as Garcia scored.
Sale then got Luis Arraez to ground into a double play, escaping the second inning.
Braves catcher Travis d’Arnaud led the top of the third inning with a single and was eventually moved over to third on Ozzie Albies’ double. However, Meyer struck out Austin Riley to end the inning.
Atlanta once again threatened in the top of the fifth when Ronald Acuna Jr. doubled to left with two outs, but Albies left him stranded after striking out to end the inning as Meyer struck out the side.
Sale retired Bethancourt and Brujan to start the bottom of the fifth, before Luis Arraez singled and Bell and Jake Burger each walked to load the bases. De La Cruz followed with a bases-clearing double to left, extending Miami’s lead to 5-0.
Atlanta got on the board in the sixth when Riley tripled and Marcell Ozuna drove him in on an RBI groundout to Meyer. The Marlins’ starting pitcher was then pulled for Calvin Faucher after six strong innings.
After Sale (1-1) retired the final seven Miami batters he faced, he was replaced by reliever Jesse Chavez after seven innings pitched. Sale gave up five hits, five earned runs and three walks and struck out seven.
Faucher pitched a perfect seventh for Miami, which was followed by a 1-2-3 inning for Anthony Bender.
Tanner Scott capped an excellent Miami pitching performance, throwing a hitless ninth inning to seal the four-run win.
