Braves fall to Marlins in extra innings
The Florida Marlins came into Sunday’s game confident that they can accomplish what no other National League team has done in nearly three months: win a series against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins defeated the Braves 5-4, to take two of the three games this weekend at Sun Life Stadium and won the series. The teams had split the other two games in the series, with the Braves winning 10-5 on Saturday and the Marlins edging them out 5-4 on Sunday.
It's the first series against an NL team that the Braves have lost since the Phillies took two of three from Atlanta on May 7-9 in Philadelphia.
The Braves had a chance to win Sunday, but a key double play induced by Florida with the bases loaded in the top of the 11th, and a clutch game-winning hit by former Atlanta infielder Wes Helms, saw Atlanta leaving South Florida with their heads down in defeat.
"It's never good to drop a series, especially when they're within the division," Braves third baseman Chipper Jones said. "But we played well. A bounce here, a bounce there, we sweep the series. If we keep playing solid baseball, we're going to win a ton of games."
The Braves got off to an early start and rapidly built a 2-0 lead in Sunday's rubber match on Brian McCann's RBI single in the top of the first inning. McCann, fresh off winning the All-Star Game MVP Award, was quiet the rest of the way and virtually a non factor.
Shortly after, the Marlins started playing with a sense of purpose and got key plays from a player that is no stranger to the Braves.
Helms, who played 198 games in Atlanta from 1998-2002, hit a big two-run triple in the fourth inning and later came around to score to give the Marlins a 4-1 lead.
The Braves would later come back to tie it and force extra innings. But the Marlins quickly loaded the bases against Chavez in the 11th, and Helms played the hero with a single to win it.
Helms’ walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th when he sliced a bases-loaded hit through a drawn-in Braves infield into left field, sparked a Marlins celebration and Helms was trampled by teammates as he rounded first base.
That handed Braves reliever Jesse Chavez his second loss in four decisions while the win evens the Marlins' record at 49-49. The Braves also loaded the bases with one out in their half of the 11th inning, but couldn't muster enough offence to score.
Three consecutive one-out singles by David Ross, Martin Prado and Jason Heyward loaded the bases for Nate McLouth, who lined a hard-hit shot that Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez cleanly fielded and turned into a 6-4-3 double play to end the scoring threat.
"It was a screaming meemie that was right at Ramirez," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "[If McLouth] hits it soft, they can't turn it, but he hit a bullet."
Braves starting pitcher Jair Jurrjens had a strong outing except for one inning, the fourth, when the Marlins collected four of their six hits off the Atlanta right-hander and scored four runs.
"J.J. pitched a heck of a game, he really did," Cox said of Jurrjens, who was 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in his four previous starts since coming of the DL on June 30. "The four runs in that [fourth] inning were just stupid runs. A dribbler up the middle, a dribbler to the right side, a hit-and-run dribbler and one ball hit good, [by] Helms. That was it -- four runs. I thought he was outstanding. It's just a shame that we lost that game."
This is the third loss in five games for the Braves, who now set their sights on the Nationals and look to bounce back in their three game series that begins Tuesday.
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