Braves Sweep Marlins, Gain Ground On Phillies
By Deke Lloyd
On Sunday, the Braves completed a hard-fought sweep of the Miami Marlins. In the process of getting the sweep, the Braves were able to gain ground on the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, shaving their lead to one game.
The night belonged to Mike Soroka and Ronald Acuna Jr. on the opening night of the series. Jose Urena, the infamous Marlins pitcher who plunked Acuna late last season, was on the hill for the opener. After the incident with Gausman earlier in the season that resulted in nothing, Acuna got the correct kind of revenge. Acuna took Urena deep in the 4th inning and flipped his bat big enough to make Jose Bautista jealous.
Soroka continued his stellar run of games. The Marlins got blanked through 8 innings by Mike Soroka before the bullpen came on. In ten starts, Soroka has his ERA down to 1.38. Soroka, if he wasn’t already, has to start to be considered the front runner for the NL Cy Young Award. It’s early, but there aren’t many pitchers that have been better than Soroka this season.
Speaking of stellar pitching performances, Julio Teheran continued to pitch like a new man. Teheran went pitch for pitch with Trevor Richards, who had a no-hitter through 6 innings. Teheran didn’t give up any runs and only two hits. Teheran has been on quite a tear.
Over his last seven starts, Julio Teheran has allowed a total of three earned runs over 38.2 innings pitched.
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) June 8, 2019
Since the start of May, opponents are hitting .151 against the #Braves righty.@680TheFan https://t.co/I8zCCDIQ3L
Anthony Swarzak and Sean Newcomb came into the game after Teheran exited. Luke Jackson was able to save the game, a 1-0 win.
Sunday, the final game of the sweep was a game the Braves could have packed it in and got home as quickly as they could. After 8 innings, the Braves were down 5-1. Instead of packing their bags early, the Braves were able to score four runs in the 9th, capped off by a three-run game-tying home run from Ronald Acuna Jr. The Braves would take the lead in the 10th after four consecutive walks from the Marlins. That lead wasn’t safe as Martin Prado tied the game in the bottom of the 10th. Matt JOce proved to be the man to break the tie, and Josh Tomlin was able to close the game out to complete the sweep.
It stopped being a small sample size long ago, and for whatever reason this is undeniable: The #Braves since Brian Snitker took over in May 2016 have been the best late-innings comeback team in baseball. It's rather remarkable how many multi-run deficits they've overcome late.
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) June 9, 2019
Braves win, 7-6. They trailed 5-1 entering the ninth; it did not matter. Ronald Acuña tied it with a 3-run shot. Matt Joyce's knock won it in the 12th. They sweep the Marlins again. 36-29.
— Gabe Burns (@GabeBurnsAJC) June 9, 2019
The Braves, by winning on Sunday, are just one game from the Phillies. It’s been a catch-up kind of season for the Braves so far, but with the Pittsburgh Pirates coming into to Atlanta this week, the Braves have a chance to finally overtake the Phillies this week.