Marlins Falter Late, Lose to Braves 8-7 in Extra Innings

Despite leading by four runs in the sixth inning, the Marlins failed to hold the lead for much longer against the Atlanta Braves. After scoring seven unanswered runs, the Marlins led 7-3 in the sixth inning, but the Braves would stop the bleeding.

Thanks to a Tyler Flowers home run and an RBI single from Johan Camargo, Atlanta cut the deficit to 7-5. In the next inning, Matt Adams doubled home Flowers to shrink the Marlins lead to 7-6. A.J. Ramos was called on to close the game in the ninth, but he would blow the save after Nick Markakis drove in Brandon Phillips on an RBI double to tie the game at 7.

Phillips would play hero in the tenth, as he singled home Camargo to win the game for the Braves by a score of 8-7. Atlanta got off to a 3-0 lead in the beginning of the game thanks to Adams, who had all three RBI for Atlanta. The Marlins would claw back to take the lead after scoring five runs in the fifth inning.

Jeff Locke allowed three and five hits in four innings pitched. Locke now has an ERA of 4.58 so far this season. The bullpen allowed five runs, and Ramos allowed both the game-tying and game-winning runs. That was the first time Ramos blew a save this season.

Jaime Garcia allowed six runs and seven hits in 5.2 innings pitched for the Braves. Christian Yelich and Tyler Moore both had two RBI for the Marlins. Moore got the start instead of Justin Bour, who made his return from injury on Friday. Adams caused a lot of problems for the Marlins, as finished the game with four RBI.

It’s still very early, but it’s never too early to take a look at the standings. Currently, the Marlins are second in the NL East, but they are 11 games back of the Nationals. They are also 11.5 games back of the Dodgers for the second NL Wild Card. The Marlins are far behind, but they have plenty of time to get back in the race.

The rubber match of this series will take place tomorrow at 1:35 ET. Jose Urena gets the start for the Marlins (30-36), while Mike Foltynewicz will be on the mound for the Braves (30-37).

Fangraphs

Swordfish: Brandon Phillips (0.48)

Flounder: A.J. Ramos (-0.66)

Play of the game: Nick Markakis doubled to right, Brandon Phillips scored (.367)