ATL 1, MIA 0; Marlins lose despite fantastic start from Trevor Richards

There was a pitching duel down in Miami Saturday night. One run resolved it all, and that one run was against Trevor Richards. The Marlins offense had no answers for Julio Teheran and his slider.

Trevor Richards: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K

Julio Teheran: 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K

The starters from both teams were cruising for much of yesterday’s game. They each had their signature pitches working. Richards was sequencing his pitches well, and picking his spots. Signs of trouble did not come for either pitcher until the sixth inning.

The Braves were able to get two men on with two outs. Freddie Freeman singled on a ball to center field, and Josh Donaldson was hit by a pitch. Nick Markakis was next, and Richards went right after him. Two straight changeups did the trick, getting Markakis to fly out, ending the inning.

Teheran ran into trouble of his own in the bottom half of the sixth. A fielding error by Dansby Swanson allowed Curtis Granderson to reach base safely. Garrett Cooper had an 8-pitch battle which resulted in a walk. The Marlins followed this up with two straight strikeouts ending the inning. Teheran’s slider was too much for both Brian Anderson, and Starlin Castro. The inability to get the run home has been a glaring problem recently. The Fish have now just scored two runs in their last three games.

The seventh inning was Richards last one, but he did not get out untouched. Austin Riley started things off with a leadoff double. Tyler Flowers then hit a sacrifice fly just deep enough into right field to score the run. The pitch was an inside, waist-high changeup. That one run was enough to decide the game.

The Fish tried to make a comeback in the eighth inning. Harold Ramirez was called in to pinch hit for Curtis Granderson. Ramirez was given the day to rest after slipping into a 0-16 slump. He doubled into left field, and Cooper followed that up with a walk. The momentum would stop there though, as Anderson grounded out to end the inning. The call was challenged by the Marlins and it showed Anderson being out by less than a step.

The Marlins offense has been struggling lately. There are multiple games where only one or two runs are scored. Then the offense tears it up for a game or two. The inconsistency makes it really hard to secure a victory. Just on the pitching performance of Richards alone he deserved more run support.

The Marlins will have starter Pablo López taking on Max Fried Sunday at 1:10 ET.

Marlins vs Braves box score (MLB.com).

Fish Picks answer key

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