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 The Marlins scored a ninth-inning run in an unusual manner
against Atlanta's All-Star closer on Thursday, and they came away
with a 3-2, come-from-behind win over the Braves. Miami earned three
victories in the four-game series.
"Two wild pitches and a knock. We'll take it," Miami manager Mike
Redmond said. "This has been a tough place for us to play. We made
some mistakes, but we kept fighting and giving great effort."
Miami's winning rally began innocently. In a 2-2 game, Kimbrel
started the ninth by striking out first baseman Garrett Jones and
followed with a strikeout of Marcell Ozuna, but the Marlins center
fielder was able to take first base when the ball bounced away from
catcher Evan Gattis.
Ozuna advanced to second base on Kimbrel's second wild pitch of the
inning and scored on catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia's one-out single
to center field. Ozuna slid in a step ahead of an accurate throw
from B.J. Upton.
"Kimbrel's the best closer in the game," said Miami closer Steve
Cishek, who pitched a scoreless ninth for his 24th save. "We could
have had him the first night, too. Maybe we've got his number a
little."
Kimbrel (0-2) allowed two walks and a hit in one inning on Monday,
but he did not allow a run. The run he permitted Thursday was the
first against him since June 20.
 "We caught some breaks, but we made him throw a lot of pitches,"
Redmond said.
Miami starter Henderson Alvarez (7-5) pitched eight innings, his
longest appearance since June 6. He allowed a two-run homer to third
baseman Chris Johnson in the second inning and twice escaped after
allowing a runner to reach second base with one out.
Alvarez allowed two runs on six hits and one walk and struck out
four. He retired the final 10 batters he faced.
"He was very good," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "The only
ball he made a mistake on was the to C.J. Otherwise, he was
dominant."
Atlanta starter Aaron Harang allowed two runs, seven hits and two
walks with five strikeouts in seven innings. It was his team-leading
18th quality start and second straight start without a decision.
"He deserved better," Gonzalez said. "We just didn't give him any
run support."
The Braves jumped on top in the second inning thanks to Johnson's
eighth home run of the season. It was only the eighth homer allowed
this year by Alvarez, who had a streak of 68 1/3 innings without
allowing a home run earlier this season.
The Marlins tied the score with two runs in the fifth inning against
Harang, which broke a streak of 14 consecutive scoreless innings by
the right-hander.
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Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria singled home Ozuna, who led off with a
walk and took third on a double by Saltalamacchia. Left fielder
Christian Yelich got the other run home with a grounder to second
that the Braves could not convert into a double play.
Saltalamacchia went 3-for-4 with two doubles. It was his third
multi-hit game of the year against the Braves, the team that drafted
and signed him in 2003.
"Salty had a couple of big hits for us," Redmond said.
"We have a lot of confidence in Salty," Cishek said.
It was another frustrating night for the Atlanta offense. The Braves
were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and left three runners
on base. Left fielder Justin Upton got three of Atlanta's six hits.
"We've got to start hitting the ball and we'll be all right,"
Gonzalez said.
NOTES: A storm blew through downtown Atlanta about 90 minutes before
the game. It rained for about 30 minutes and the grounds crew was
able to get the field prepared in time for the first pitch at 7:10
p.m. EDT. ... Atlanta will start LHP Alex Wood (7-7) in the opener
of a four-game series with San Diego on Friday. RHP Jesse Hahn (5-2)
will start for the Padres. ... Miami visits Houston for a three-game
series, with LHP Brad Hand (1-2) going against Astros LHP Dallas
Keuchel (9-6) on Friday. ... Atlanta SS Andrelton Simmons was given
the night off and was replaced by Ramiro Pena. Simmons started 96 of
the first 101 games. ... The Marlins successfully challenged a call
in the sixth inning. First base umpire Rob Drake ruled that Atlanta
LF Justin Upton got back to the bag safely on a line drive hit by RF
Jason Heyward. However, the replay showed that SS Adeiny
Hechavarria's throw beat the diving Upton.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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