The Braves shutout the Fish 4-0

The Fish lost last night to a good team and that is fine. While they had a couple of missed opportunities at scoring, it was probably likely they were going to lose anyway. The Braves have a fantastic line up that looks like it will be a force to reckon with for years to come. The Fish have just started their rebuild so the rough losses are expected.

Pablo López: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

Kevin Gausman: 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 7 K

Pablo López had a strong outing if you ignore the fourth inning. While it is hard to ignore an inning where implosion occurs, let's try for a moment. Early on in the game López was using all of his secondary pitches effectively. He was constantly using the curveball which kept the Braves batters off balance. The first time through the Braves lineup was easy for López.

The second time through the lineup was a different story. Freddie Freeman began the fourth inning onslaught with a line drive single to left field. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed that up with a two-run blast. The pitch that López threw was good, it was low and in the corner of the zone. Acuña was able to put the bat on it and muscle it out of the park.

The hits did not stop. After getting the next two men out, Tyler Flowers drove a ball out of the park down the left field line. The score was now 3-0. The Braves were not done yet, they would pile on one more run before finally ending the inning. López would pitch one more inning but the damage was done.

The Marlins offense was painfully absent last night, but they did have two opportunities to make something happen. The first opportunity came at the start of the game. After walking the first two batters, Kevin Gausman looked like he would be in trouble. Neil Walker had the chance to bring a run home, unfortunately for the Fish he hit into a double play. With the energy sucked out quickly, Starlin Castro grounded out to end the inning.

Funny enough the next time the Marlins had a runner in scoring position was the ninth inning. Peter O'Brien started things off with a walk, followed by a Martín Prado double. Curtis Granderson and Brian Anderson both struck out after that. Walker was walked and Starlin Castro came up with the bases loaded and two outs. On the first pitch Castro flied a ball out to deep left field. Acuñá Jr. was right there putting an end to the game.

The Fish scrapped together just three hits. Even with the weak display of offense, they had their chances. When the Marlins hit in bunches they succeed. López had one bad inning, that plus no offense makes for a tough loss. The rare opportunities were there and when facing a team like the Braves, every opportunity must be taken. Sandy Alcantara will be taking on Kyle Wright tonight at 7:20 p.m.

Brave vs. Marlins box score (MLB.com)

Fish Picks answer key

1. Braves
2. Under
3. Over
4. No
5. Braves