Spring Training 2013 Recap: Miami Marlins 6, Atlanta Braves 7

The Miami Marlins made more news off the field than on the field with comments regarding the team by the owner rather than the players themselves. But their performance in yesterday's loss to the Atlanta Braves was at least inspiring in the sense that the Fish fought back from a 7-1 hole to at least make the game interesting.

Digging Into a Hole

The Fish dug themselves into a hole with a number of poor bullpen performances by the likes of Scott Maine, Arquimedes Caminero, and Zach Phillips. The three relievers for the Marlins allowed all seven runs in three consecutive innings in the fourth through sixth innings. The worst culprit was Maine, who allowed two home runs in the fourth, back-to-back jacks for Jason Heyward and new Braves outfielder Justin Upton.

This was all in relief of starter Wade LeBlanc, who should be considered the front-runner for the fifth rotation spot given his performance last season. LeBlanc threw two perfect innings to start the game, striking out two batters along the way. This is a strong performance that should keep him in the lead for the time being for the last rotation opening.

Digging Out of the Hole

The Marlins did force a large comeback with a strong eighth inning in which they scored five runs. The team put up the five runs all against reliever Yohan Flande, who allowed six hits in the process to Marlins batters. Matt Downs and Jordan Brown doubled to begin the affair, then prospect Jake Marisnick tripled and scored following fellow Double-A prospect Christian Yelich's single. The lead was cut to one at that point, but the Marlins never could tack on the final run.

Marisnick finished the day with that hit alone, having come in for Gorkys Hernandez. Yelich ended the day with a single and a walk in relief of Chris Coghlan, who also had a nice outing at the plate. Coghlan had two hits in three plate appearances and scored a run along the way.

Next: Tuesday, February 26, vs. New York Mets