Braves Win 5-3 Due To Peterson’s Grand Slam

The Atlanta Braves defeat the Miami Marlins 5-3 this afternoon in a game that went down to the wire.  Atlanta plated five runs in the top of the second inning, thanks in large part to a grand slam to right center by Jace Peterson of Mat Latos.  Miami did its best to chip away at the five-run deficit but ended up just a bit short as Jason Grilli recorded his eleventh save of the season by getting Giancarlo Stanton to fly out to centerfield.

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Alex Wood went seven innings, allowing just one earned run and walking just one batter.  Woody pitched to a lot of contact today and was able to get out of two bases-loaded jams in the first and sixth innings.  His start this afternoon should come as a real confidence booster for the 24-year old left-hander as he went deep into the ball game despite not having his best stuff.

Atlanta bats continue to drive Marlins starter Mat Latos crazy.  Giving up the big fly to Jace Peterson in the second and exiting the game because of a Maybin line drive to the shin made this a forgettable start for the veteran right-hander.

As great as Peterson’s first career big league homer was, the ball Giancarlo Stanton annihilated in the bottom of the third was unreal.  Stanton’s 475+ foot shot to dead center was the longest home run hit this season in all of Major League baseball.  Giancarlo Stanton has more Raw Power than Iggy Pop & The Stooges.  When he connects with one, it is must see television.

Todd Cunningham has looked outstanding at the plate in his first two big league starts.  Cunningham again went 3-4 today and is now 6-8 on the season.  Though he did get called out on trying take third base on an errant pickoff attempt by Marlins reliever Steve Cishek, I applaud Todd’s effort on that sequence.  It took a great throw to get him out by inches at third base.

With this afternoon’s win, the Atlanta Braves have already clinched a series victory over the Miami Marlins.  The Braves look to sweep the Fish in tomorrow’s finale when Shelby Miller and Henderson Alvarez square off at 1:10 PM ET.