Justin Upton leads Braves past Marlins

The Atlanta Braves came back to town on Friday night to face off against the Florida Marlins. With Ervin Santana on the mound, fans expected some good pitching. They got plenty, but Marlins starter Tom Koehler was also sharp. For five straight innings, both starters battled back and forth in a scoreless effort. Then the sixth inning rolled around and things got interesting.

The Marlins started things off in the top of the sixth with an Ozuna single that scored the first run. It could have scored two runs, but the Braves gunned down the trailing runner at the plate. That would prove to be huge. The Braves escaped with just one run of damage, and came up in the bottom of the sixth with the heart of the order. Freddie Freeman led off with a walk, then Justin Upton belted one into center field that hasn’t landed yet. It was a mammoth homer that put the Braves up 2-1 in the game.

But the Marlins weren’t done. When David Carpenter came into the game for Santana in the seventh inning, he gave up a solo homer to Juan Valdespin. That’s not normally a guy who gets a ton of homers, in fact he’s only hit three all season, but his pinch hitting tied the game. But wait! The Braves weren’t done either. In the bottom half of the seventh, Simmons led off the inning with a bunt single. Then Ramiro Pena came on to pinch hit, and slapped one off the first baseman’s glove that trickled into foul territory. Simmons scampered to third on the drop.

With runners at the corners and nobody out, Jason Heyward came to the plate. Jason smacked one through the hole on the third base side, scoring Simmons, and giving the Braves a 3-2 lead. Back and forth, and back again for the Braves in this game. After two outs, Justin Upton came to the plate again with bad intentions. He nailed a grounder up the middle that scored one run, but the Marlins’ center fielder flubbed the ball and another runs scored as well. It all started with a bunt single, and the Marlins defense did the rest.

After another Craig Kimbrel appearance and save, the Braves won the game with a 5-2 score. MVP of the game goes to Justin Upton, who went 2/4 with a homer and 3 RBIs. The Braves finished the game with eight hits, a homer, and 2/10 with RISP. In a game that looked very boring early, the explosions late really set the tone for the Braves victory.

Next up, it’s Jarred Cosart v. Aaron Harang on Saturday night. Don’t miss the Harangutan in action!