Dan Uggla’s three-run homer helps Atlanta Braves defeat Florida Marlins 5-0 – MLB Update
Atlanta Braves continued with their good run of form this season as they beat the Florida Marlins 5-0 courtesy Dan Uggla’s three-run homer at Turner Field in Atlanta on Friday, July 29.
The defeat brought to an end the five-game winning streak of the Marlins who have won nine out of their 15 games post All-Star break. Despite their spike in form, the Marlins are placed fourth in the National League East division out of the total five teams
and are still 14.5 games behind leaders Philadelphia Phillies.
Braves have impressed this season with a win-loss record of 62-45 so far but their performance has not been enough to challenge the Phillies who are still five games ahead of Atlanta. The top two teams of NL Central will go head-to-head six times in September
and it will be the only chance for the Braves to topple the Phillies.
The competition between Clay Hensley of the Marlins and Brandon Beachy of Atlanta got intense as neither allowed a run for the first six innings of the game. The silence broke in the seventh inning when second baseman Dan Uggla smashed a three-run homer
to Hensley which allowed Martin Prado and Freddie Freeman to complete their runs. Uggla’s hit extended his hitting streak to 20 games.
The scoring momentum continued in the eighth inning for the Braves who added two more runs courtesy Jose Constanza and Brooks Conrad to extend the lead to five runs and seize the game.
Beachy pitched 7.1 innings for the Braves and conceded just two hits in the entire stretch. He pitched in the eighth inning for the first time and impressed, as he won his fourth game this season for his win-loss tally to stand at 4-2.
Hensley, on the contrary, could not put an impressive end to what was an outstanding start. He became Uggla’s prey in the seventh inning and ended up conceding three hits and five runs. Hensley lost his third game of the season and with just one win to his
credit, his win-loss record looks dreary at 1-3.
Braves’ manager Fredi Gonzalez was all praise for Beachy. He was impressed by the starter who employed his entire arsenal to dominate the Marlins’ batting line-up. Gonzalez said, "Outstanding performance, he went up and down the strike zone, down and in.
He was dominant today."
Braves have lost just one series after the All-Star break and will want to further pick up their form after this win. Marlins have not been a strong outfit thus far and Atlanta has a bright chance to sweep Florida with two more wins over the weekend. It
will be interesting to see, however, how the Marlins resurge after their first loss in six games.
Tags: