Braves Over Marlins Monday, 4-2, In 10 Innings

Evan Gattis Hits Game Winning Homer

  • Monday, April 21, 2014
Evan Gattis
Evan Gattis
photo by Tim Evearitt

ATLANTA -- After Craig Kimbrel suffered his first blown save, and a bases-loaded threat was squandered during Monday night's ninth inning at Turner Field, Evan Gattis saved the day with a two-run home run that gave the Braves a 4-2, 10-inning win over the Marlins.

Dan Uggla opened the bottom of the 10th inning with a single off right-handed reliever Arquimedes Caminero. Gattis followed by lining Caminero's 1-0 fastball over the left-field wall.

Exactly one week after being held out of a save situation because of a sore right shoulder, Kimbrel took the mound on Monday night tasked with the responsibility to hold a one-run lead. He quickly encountered trouble as a leadoff walk and catcher's interference set the stage for Derek Dietrich, who concluded a nine-pitch at-bat with a game-tying double off the left-center-field wall.

Kimbrel then proceeded to strike out the next three batters he faced to ease the concerns that date back to Saturday when he allowed the Mets two runs before being removed with two outs in the ninth. The Braves secured their seventh win in their past nine games with the help of right-handed setup man Jordan Walden, who escaped the eighth inning unscathed after the Marlins loaded the bases with one out.

The threat was created when instant replay reversed the initial ruling that Uggla had recorded an out at second base before dropping the ball as he was attempting to turn a double play on a Giancarlo Stanton grounder.

Andrelton Simmons hit a game-tying home run in the fifth inning and then further frustrated Marlins starter Tom Koehler with a one-out single in the decisive seventh inning. Pinch-hitter Ryan Doumit followed with a single to right field. Simmons wisely opted not to race toward the plate on Stanton's errant throw that Koehler quickly corralled after it bounced off the backstop.

With runners at the corners, the Marlins replaced Koehler with Mike Dunn, who got ahead with an 0-2 count before Heyward hit the next pitch -- a 93 mph fastball -- to right field. Heyward's single was just his second hit in 19 at-bats against left-handed pitchers this year.

After Teheran threw 115 pitches -- the second-highest total of his young career -- while tossing a three-hit shutout in Philadelphia last week, the only question was how he would react during his next outing. The early results were not promising as he needed 39 pitches to navigate his way through the first two innings. Still, the only run he surrendered during that span came via Garrett Jones' home run to begin the second inning.

A third-inning pickoff of Marcell Ozuna seemed to spark Teheran, who surrendered just one more hit while totaling 52 pitches over his final five innings. Marlins leadoff hitter Christian Yelich extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a first-inning single fielded by Simmons. But like Stanton, the National League RBI leader, Yelich did not hit a ball out of the infield while opposing Teheran.

After the Marlins grabbed an early lead, the Braves had some trouble with Koehler, who had surrendered just one hit over seven scoreless innings against the Nationals in his last start. Gattis' second-inning single stood as Atlanta's only hit until Simmons sent a one-out home run into the left-field seats in the fifth inning. Simmons has totaled three home runs through his first 64 at-bats. He hit his third home run in his 104th at-bat during last year's 17-homer season.

--- Source: MLB.com

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