ATLANTA – Marcell Ozuna hit a tie-breaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning and the Braves rallied for a 5-3 win over the Miami Marlins on Friday night.
The Braves, who lead the NL wild-card race, have won six of seven.
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Aaron Bummer (3-2) picked up the win in relief of rookie Spencer Schwellenbach, and Joe Jiménez earned his third save of the season.
Orlando Arcia was 2 for 3 with two RBIs and a home run, his fourth in six games. He has a career-high 13-game hitting streak.
“It is good to fight back and get an emotional win like that,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker.
The Braves endured a six-game losing streak prior to this hot stretch, and Snitker said it is the team’s ability to stay even-keeled that has been the key to withstanding injuries to stars such as Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies.
“I’ve always admired that with this group -- how much fun they have competing,” Snitker said. “Everything about this. They love doing the work, coming early, doing things, and they really like it when the umpire says ‘play ball.’ Through good, bad, ugly, whatever it is.”
The Braves trailed 3-2 entering the eighth inning before scoring three runs off Miami’s Calvin Faucher (2-3). Newly acquired Jorge Soler had a game-tying RBI single, knocking in Jarred Kelenic. An Austin Riley double advanced pinch runner Ramón Laureano to third, and Ozuna drove him home with a drive to the warning track. Arcia’s RBI single provided an insurance run.
Marlins starter Valente Bellozo, who was called up earlier in the day from Triple-A Jacksonville, allowed two runs in five innings. He gave up just two hits and had five strikeouts in his third career start.
Jake Burger and Jonah Bride homered, while Xavier Edwards was 2 for 4 with two steals and a run for the Marlins, who have not won in five tries at Truist Park this season.
“When you don’t add on runs, that lineup has the ability to come back,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker.
Schwellenbach had his sixth quality start of the season. The 24-year-old right-hander gave up three runs on six hits in seven innings while striking out 10 and walking none.
“The early runs didn’t scare me away from the strike zone, and I’m proud of myself for that,” Schwellenbach said. “Sometimes you start nibbling the second time through the order, and I didn’t do that.”
Snitker said Schwellenbach is unlike some young pitchers who are focused on maximizing velocity and spin rate.
“How he keeps and repeats his delivery is really refreshing. Uses all of his pitches. It’s not like he’s throwing for an iPad or whatever that thing is in the stadium that tracks everything,” Snitker said.
Arcia hit a leadoff home run to center field in the fifth inning after four hitless innings from Bellozo.
The Marlins scored two runs off Schwellenbach in the first inning. Edwards led off with a single and stole second. The single extended Edwards’ on-base streak to 19 games. Two batters later, Bride hit his second home run of the season to give the Marlins a 2-0 lead.
Burger added to that in the third inning with a 418-foot blast to left field. The homer was Burger’s third in four games.
MOVES
Marlins: LHP Austin Kitchen was sent to Triple-A Jacksonville before the game to make room for Bellozo. ... The Marlins claimed CF Cristian Pache off waivers from Baltimore and RHP John McMillon off waivers from Kansas City.
UP NEXT
Braves rookie RHP Grant Holmes (0-0, 2.54) will make the second start of his career in Game 3 of the four-game series against Marlins RHP Kyle Tyler (0-4, 4.72) on Saturday
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb