Braves' powerful bats ignite, silencing Hicks' solo shot and sealing the series win. Marlins falter on the road.
Liam Hicks' home run wasn’t enough to claim the series, as the Miami Marlins fell to the Atlanta Braves 6-3 on Wednesday.
Hicks hit his fourth home run of the season after shortstop Otto Lopez reached on a single in the eighth inning. It was Hicks' only hit of the game, but he raised his RBI total to 18, which is tied for fourth most in the majors.
“A good fight,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said after the game. “I think (Atlanta) came through with a couple more moments with some guys on than we did.”
A solo home run from Ozzie Albies in the second inning set the tone for the Braves. Three straight singles followed Albies, with Mauricio Dubón driving in a second Atlanta run.
Marlins starter Chris Paddack finished his outing with two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts in 4.2 innings pitched. Despite the Marlins not winning a Paddack start, the right-hander has a road ERA of 2.35.
The Braves returned with the long ball in the sixth inning, this time a solo shot off the bat of Austin Riley for his first home run of the season.
Braves manager Walt Weiss said Riley’s homer was a “really good sign.”
“Riley’s coming around,” Weiss told reporters after the game. “When you’re hitting the ball hard the other way, you’re doing a lot of things right.”
After Drake Baldwin drove in Ronald Acuna Jr., who reached on a double, Matt Olson hit his fifth homer of the year to put the Braves up 6-0 in the seventh.
“It’s a good offense,” Weiss said. “Especially when we get everyone rolling, it’s gonna be a really good offense.”
The Marlins showed some fight in the eighth with Hicks’ homer and Connor Norby reaching on a single and scoring on a fielder’s choice. Norby went 2-for-4 with a double to raise his batting average to .273 on the season. Lopez also hit 2-for-4 for the Marlins.
Closer Raisel Iglesias struck out the side in the ninth to secure his fourth save of the season for the Braves, who are now 12-7. Bryce Elder earned the win with seven strikeouts in 5.2 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 0.77.
“Bryce was really good, stuff was really crisp, had his good slider,” Weiss said. “He’s done an outstanding job for us. He’s in a really good place.”
The Marlins (9-10) have lost all three of their road series and dropped to below .500 for the first time this season. The Marlins are 2-7 on the road, but return to Miami on Friday, where they’re 7-3, to start a six-game homestand against the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals.
“We’re doing a lot of nice things. We love our club,” McCullough said. “Certainly disappointed with the wins and losses with how this road trip went, but I think we’ll take away a lot of the positives that came from this knowing that we have a long way to go.”
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