Game Recap: Atlanta Braves; Peterson Hold Off Fish, 5-3
By Dan Horton
Atlanta Braves second basemen Jace Peterson notched the first home run of his career Saturday afternoon. Not your typical, run-of-the-mill home run either. In the Braves half of the second, Peterson sent the first pitch he saw from Mat Latos to deep right field for a Grand Slam! His slam capped a 5 run second that saw the scoring start on a run scoring single from A.J. Pierzynski.
Peterson would return to the dugout with a smile on his face from ear to ear. I can’t really blame him. The tale of the tape on the blast was estimated at 392 feet.
The Marlins would get on the board in the bottom of the second. A ground out by Dee Gordon to Peterson would get a plate a run with men on second and third. The Marlins would also add on another one in the third. Alex Wood and Pierzynski were trying to work Marlin slugger Giancarlo Stanton away. Wood caught too much of the plate on the outer half, and Stanton blasted it to dead center. Almost in the same place he hit last nights home run. Only today, it went a little further. It would cut the Brave lead to 5-2.
The Braves were the benefactor of an unfortunate incident accident in the 4th. On a 2-2 count, Cameron Maybin sent a liner back to Latos. The ball hit Latos in what looked like the not so meaty part of Latos’ plant leg. Latos would not be able to finish the inning, and would give way to Tom Koehler. The Braves had a prime opportunity to break the game open as the inning progressed.
Atlanta would wind up loading the bases again for Freddie Freeman. However, Koehler would get Freeman to strike out swinging to end the threat and the Braves would squander the chance. The Braves, as of late, continue to struggle to drive in runs with RISP.
Alex Wood looked more like a magician than a pitcher at times today. He would end the 3rd and the 4th innings on pick-offs. A pick of Ichiro Suzuki to end 3rd. Then, he would follow that one up in the with a pick of Adeiny Hechavarria to end the 4th. After a rocky start to the game in the first inning, Wood would settle down and keep the Marlins at bay, pun intended. Wood’s first inning saw him load the bases, only to pitch himself out of it.
Wood would again pitch himself into trouble in the 6th. With one out in the inning, Wood loaded the bases on a hit, an error by Philip Gosselin, and a walk. Again, Wood pitches his way out of his own mess. Making a good pitch on 3-2 to get a pop out behind the plate, and a fly ball out to Maybin in center, leaving the score at 5-2 Braves after six. That would be the second instance where the Marlins would leave them loaded.
Todd Cunningham would have another great afternoon. He went 3-4 with a run scored. In the eighth inning with 2 out. Cunningham would get his 3rd hit. On a pick off attempt by Marlins reliever Steve Cishek, the throw would get by Jeff Baker at 1st. Had the ball been caught, Cunningham would have been out for sure. But he wasn’t. Cunningham would spring to his feet and take off for second.
Cunningham perhaps got a little greedy, as the ball slowly rolled into short right field. Dee Gordon would get to the ball and fire to third. Cunningham was initially ruled safe at third. However, the Marlins would challenge the safe call. After review, the replay clearly showed Martin Prado getting the tag down in enough time. Just before Cunningham’s hand reached the bag, Prado would place the tag on the shoulder. Call overturned.
You have to love the hustle and heart from Cunningham though. He is definitely out there to compete. Yes, you never want to make the third out of an inning at 3rd, but with a 3 run lead in the 8th, I personally like the effort.
Alex Wood would pitch 7 solid innings for the Braves today, throwing 103 pitches, 68 of them for strikes. Wood also allowed 2 runs, one earned on 7 hits. That lone earned run being the home run allowed to Stanton. After an effective 7 innings, his ERA drops to 3.83. Wood had one strike out and would walk 2 Giving the Braves bullpen a much-needed rest. It still wasn’t vintage Alex Wood, but it was whole heck of a lot better than his last few outings. He would give way to Jim Johnson and the pen in the 8th.
Jason Grilli would pitch the 9th but not as effectively as he or the Braves would hope. A lead off double by Adeiny Hechavarria would start things off. Grilli then got pinch hitter Justin Bour to pop out. Dee Gordon would then send a base hit to center that Maybin would have to play on a bounce. Hechavarria would run through a stop sign from third base coach Brett Butler and score the third run of the game for Miami. Grilli would get Prado to strike out for out number two.
After throwing 27 pitches, Grilli would get Stanton to fly to Maybin on the first pitch. It wasn’t pretty in the 9th, but the Braves would hold on for the 5-3 victory. Grilli earned his 11th save, but he had to work hard for it. Jace Peterson‘s second inning grand slam is all the Braves and Alex Wood needed.
Wood earns only his second win of the year and is now 2-2. Latos would get the loss (1-4). Atlanta looks to sweep the series tomorrow afternoon in the finale at Marlins Park. The Braves have yet to lose in Miami this season.
Shelby Miller (4-1, 1.60) squares off against Henderson Alvarez (0-2, 4.50) in a 1:10 EST start.