Pen fails late, Braves take game two, 5-4

This was a game that was at first a battle of homers, but ultimately was a battle of bullpens; one which the Marlins lost alone with the game, 5-4.

This left the Marlins with a split of the short two-game set with the Braves.

Tom Koehler, like last night’s starter Dan Strailly, has a problem with giving up homers, and indeed the only runs he gave up were a two-run shot by light hitting Ender Inciarte in the third to put the Braves up 2-0.

The Fish answered back in the bottom of the third with a towering two run shot by Giancarlo Stanton to left field off a Garcia breaking ball to tie the game 2-2. This was Stanton’s first homer of the year.

The Braves answered back with a solo blast by Freddy Freeman off of Koehler in the fourth to Atlanta back up by one.

Stanton continued to be Garcia’s kryptonite by hitting another two-run home run on an absolute laser to left field for in the fifth to put the Marlins up for the first time, 4-3.

The Fox Sports TV broadcast stated that the exit velocity of this rope was 116 mph, and it only went as high as 48 feet at its apex. It was the 19th career multi-homer game for Stanton.

This also provided for the second potential meme moment in as many nights (after the opening night visit from a cat), as a fan jumped into the pool in the left field stands to retrieve the ball.

Koehler came out of the game having given the old school “quality start” of going six innings while given up three runs.

Meanwhile, former Cardinals lefty Jaime Garcia started for the Braves, and he did well in five innings while giving up four runs, all on the Stanton homers.

After Koehler’s night was done, Don Mattingly turned the ball over to the supposed strength of the team, the bullpen. After a quick inning from Brad Ziegler, the ball was handed over to Junichi Tazawa. Tazawa gave up a solo home run to who else but Inciarte, who hit his second long ball of the night to tie the game at four.

As a reminder, this is the same Ender Inciarte who hit three homers all of last year, and has a career slugging percentage of a paltry .380.

Going to the ninth inning, A.J. Ramos came in. After a one out walk Brandon Phillips and a wild pitch with two outs which sent Phillips to second base, Ramos gave up a line drive single to center to Tyler Flowers to plate the go-ahead run.

Jim Johnson came in for the Braves and shut down the Marlins in order to garner his first save of the season.

W: Vizcaino (1-0)

L: Ramos (0-1)

S: Johnson (1)

Time: 2:51

Attendance: 16,808

Under the Sea

• J.T. Riddle got his first major league hit on a check swing roller down the third base line...which will forever be known in the Riddle family as a “hot shot past the third baseman.”
• The game was delayed for 27 minutes after a power surge dimmed the outfield lights.
• This was the last game before the Braves finally return to Atlanta to open their new ballpark.

FanGraphs

Hero: Ender Inciarte

Flounder: Marlins bullpen

Turning Point: Homer number two (!!) for Inciarte