(8-1) Atlanta Braves at (1-8) Florida Marlins Recap

"Atlanta Braves pitcher Mike Minor throws against the Miami Marlins at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, Monday, April 10, 2013. (Hector Gabino/El Nuevo Herald/MCT via Getty Images)"

Entering tonight's game, the Braves are looking to extend their winning streak to an impressive seven games and will look to sweep the series against the Miami Marlins. Atlanta won 3-2 last night behind an outstanding pitching performance from Kris Medlen who only allowed one earned run in seven innings and rookie catcher Evan Gattis would lift Atlanta with a two-run homer in the first inning and Justin Upton's RBI double in the eighth inning would be all the Braves would need to earn yet another win to start the season with a (7-1) record. Taking the mound for Atlanta is veteran starting pitcher Mike Minor. Minor, 25, will look to continue his impressive second half from the 2012 season and earn his second win of 2013. Minor won his first start of the season last week against the Chicago Cubs in which he gave up 5 hits, 1 run, allowed 0 walks, and struck out 7 batters in seven innings. Miami is sending out Alex Sanabia tonight as the Marlins will try to salvage the final game of the series. In the Marlins only win of the 2013 MLB season, he threw 6 scoreless innings which included allowing 6 hits, 3 walks, and a strikeout. The Braves will also look to receive a boost from their All-Star outfielder Jason Heyward who will return to the lineup tonight. In the end,    the match-ups were playing into the hands of the Braves to earn yet another victory to open the 2013 campaign. 

FIRST INNING:

Atlanta's first chance on offense opened with Andrelton Simmons fly out to left field to earn the first out of the game. Jason Heyward would reach first base on a error committed by Chris Valakia and Justin Upton would walk as Heyward moved to second base. Evan Gattis couldn't cash in on the Braves first scoring opportunity as he would hit into a double play and that would bail the Marlins out of early trouble. As for Miami, Juan Pierre would ground out to earn the first out of the inning followed by a ground out from Donovan Solano and Giancarlo Stanton would pop up to second base to give Mike Minor a 1-2-3 inning to end the first in a 0-0 score.

SECOND INNING:

The Braves would open this inning with Dan Uggla striking out swinging to earn the first out. Juan Francisco would follow up by popping out to left field for the Braves second out. Chris Johnson would earn the first hit of the night on a single to extend Atlanta's inning. Jordan Schafer would earn his first hit of the season on a single and the Braves had two men on with two outs. Unfortunately, Mike Minor would strike out and the Marlins dodged yet another threat. For the Marlins, Placido Polanco opened the inning with a double. Justin Ruggiano would line out to second base for the first out. Miguel Olivo struck out for the second out of the inning and Mike Minor would get out of the threat as Adeiny Hechavarria struck out and the game score was still 0-0.

THIRD INNING:

As for the Braves, the inning ended quick for offense as Andrelton Simmons would pop out for the first out of the inning. Jason Heyward would line out to second base and Justin Upton would ground out as the Braves had a 1-2-3 inning. Again, Miami would open up yet another inning with a double from Chris Valaika. Alex Sanabia struck out to give the Marlins their first out. Juan Pierre would ground out for the second out of the inning. Yet again, Donovan Solano popped out to end the inning to keep the score still at 0-0.

FOURTH INNING:

The Braves would open this inning by earning a single from Evan Gattis with no outs. Dan Uggla would follow up with his second strikeout of the game and Juan Francisco would single as Atlanta would again have two men on base with one out.  However, they couldn't capitalize again as Chris Johnson would ground out into another double play to end Atlanta's threat for the third time in the game. The Marlins would open their portion of the inning with Giancarlo Stanton popping up for the first out. Placido Polanco would fly out for the second out of the inning. Justin Ruggiano kept the inning alive with a single with two outs; however, Miguel Olivo would fly out to center field and it was still scoreless heading into the next inning.

FIFTH INNING:

The Braves would open up the inning with Jordan Schafer earning a single off a bunt with no outs and would also steal a base to place himself in scoring position. Mike Minor would strike out on a failed attempt to bunt to earn the first out. Andrelton Simmons would earn his first RBI of the series as he singled Jordan Schafer home to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead. Sanabia would follow up by walking Jason Heyward to place two men on base with one out. Justin Upton would pop out to center field for the second out of the inning. Evan Gattis would continue his impressive rookie season as he would bomb a three run homer to put the Braves up 4-0. Juan Francisco would follow up a Dan Uggla walk  with a two-run homer to give Atlanta an commanding 6-0 lead before their final out. For the Marlins, Adeiny Hechavarria would immediately ground out for the first out of the inning and Chris Valaika would ground out to first to give Miami their second out of the inning and after Austin Kearns walked, Juan Pierre would ground out as the Braves took a commanding 6-0 lead into the next inning.

SIXTH INNING:

Jordan Schafer would open up the sixth inning with a huge double with no outs and Mike Minor would drop a sacrifice bunt down to advance Schafer to third base with one out for the Braves. Andrelton Simmons got his second RBI of the game as he made a sacrifice fly to bring in Jordan Schafer and give Atlanta a 7-0 lead with two outs and Jason Heyward would ground out to end the offensive portion of the inning. As for Miami, Donovan Solano singled to open up the inning for the Marlins and Giancarlo Stanton struck out for the first out of the inning. Placido Polanco would single to give the Marlins their first threat of the game having two men on base with one out.  Justin Ruggiano fly out for the second out and advanced Solano to third base. into the next inning. Mike Minor's night would come to an end in a shutout effort in which he struck out four batters, walked one person, and gave up five hits. Reliever Cory Gearrin would strike out Miguel Olivo to end Miami's threat and keep the Braves lead at 7-0.

SEVENTH INNING:

Justin Upton opened the inning by grounding out to the pitcher and Evan Gattis would earn a walk with one out. Dan Uggla lined out to third for the second out of the inning and Juan Francisco would be walked as two men were on base with two outs; however, the offensive stretch would end after Chris Johnson would pop up into shallow right field to end the Braves offensive stretch. As for Miami, Adeiny Hechavarria would strike out looking for the first out. Chris Valaika would walk and Kyle Skipworth would ground into a double play to end the inning for the Marlins.

EIGHTH INNING:

Jordan Schafer would single to open up the inning and this was his fourth hit of the game with no outs. Reed Johnson would earn the first out  after he struck out. Andrelton Simmons flew out to right field for the second out of the inning and Jordan Schafer would be caught in a run down to earn the third out of the inning as their offensive threat would end. For the Marlins, Juan Pierre would fly out and earn Miami's first out of the inning.  Donovan Solano would ground out to get the second out of the inning. After Giancarlo Stanton earned his first hit of the series, the inning would come to an end after Placido Polanco grounded out and the 7-0 lead was still intact for Atlanta.

NINTH INNING:

As the Braves came up to the bat for the final time, Justin Upton would end his night with a pop out for the first out of the inning. Evan Gattis would ground out to left field for the second out; however, Dan Uggla's single kept the inning alive and was followed up by a Juan Francisco single and Atlanta would extend their lead to 8-0 as Chris Johnson would single to right field bringing home Dan Uggla and Jordan Schafer's perfect night would end on a strikeout. In the Marlins final offensive chance, they wouldn't generate any offense as Justin Ruggiano would fly out to right field for the first out and even after Chris Coghlan got a single,  Adeiny Hechavarria
and Chris Valaika would have consecutive pop outs to end the game and Atlanta would shut out the Miami Marlins for the second time in this series.

WINNING PITCHER:

Mike Minor (2-0): (5.2) Innings Pitched, No Earned Runs, (5) Hits Allowed, One Walk, and (4) Strikeouts

LOSING PITCHER:

Alex Sanabia (1-1): (5.0) Innings Pitched, (8) Hits Allowed, (6) Earned Runs, (3) Walks, (4) Strikeouts, and (2) Home Runs Allowed


PLAYERS OF THE GAME:

Jordan Schafer/ Evan Gattis:

In a game where Atlanta's offense was clicking and would earn a combined (13) hits , which is tied for a season high and the fourth time this season the Braves have counted for 10 or more hits in a game, they received an unusual boost from Jordan Schafer. Schafer, who replaced the slumping B.J. Upton in center field tonight had an amazing night, going (4-5) and accounting for two of the runs scored tonight. Schafer provided the first spark of the game for Atlanta's offense in the fifth inning and they never looked back. Tonight's contest proved that he's still a reliable option for the Braves in the outfield. For the second consecutive night, Evan Gattis provided a huge home-run to put Atlanta in position to take a commanding lead en route to another victory. Gattis 3-run homer in the fifth inning extended Atlanta's lead to 4-0 at that point and he would end his night (2-4) with a his third homerun of the season and 3 RBI's. Although Gattis is a rookie, he's making a strong case as a catcher of the future in an Atlanta Braves uniform. He's been fun to watch and hopefully he continues his stretch of offensive success.


CONCLUSION:

Tonight's game marked the Braves sixth win in a row and their second straight sweep as Atlanta will now continue their road trip to play the NL East Division Rival Washington Nationals for a three game set this weekend. The Braves have been one of the most impressive teams around the majors to open the 2013 season and tonight's win displayed how special this unit could be throughout the season. Until next time, GO BRAVES!!!!!!