MIAMI (AP) — Michael Harris II tripled, singled and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 5-4 on Sunday.
Gio Urshela and Ozzie Albies homered while Matt Olson had two hits and an RBI for the Braves (85-71), who began Sunday two games behind the New York Mets for the third NL wild card. The Braves return home and begin a three-game against the Mets on Tuesday.
“This is one of the hardest fought games that I’ve been a part of in a long time,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “It’s pretty good how the guys kept stepping up.”
Jorge Soler’s infield single with the bases loaded against Declan Cronin (3-4) in the seventh scored Harris from third and put the Braves ahead.
Miami loaded the bases with no outs against Aaron Bummer in the bottom half when Otto López and Derek Hill singled and Nick Fortes reached on a sacrifice after Bummer threw to third on an unsuccessful force out attempt. Bummer struck out Xavier Edwards before Daysbel Hernández relieved and struck out Connor Norby and retired Jesús Sánchez on a lineout to right.
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias pitched the final two innings for his 32nd save. It was Iglesias’ sixth two-inning appearance of the season.
“It’s not the same pitching two innings as one,” Iglesias said in Spanish. “When you come in the eighth, you have to approach it with more calm. Then in the ninth you come out with more aggression and complete the job, which is getting two scoreless innings.”
Pierce Johnson (6-5) got the three outs in the sixth for the win.
“That was a grind out game,” Braves catcher Sean Murphy said. “We used the whole bullpen. It was back and forth. They never rolled over on us. It was one of those games that it was fun to play and fun to win.”
The Marlins tied it at 4-all on consecutive homers from Norby and Sánchez to start the sixth. But Miami (57-99) ended 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position as Atlanta won the season series 9-4.
“We were clawing our way back the whole game and just couldn’t get a swing when we needed it,” Norby said.
Harris hit a tying RBI triple and scored on Olson’s single in the fifth that erased a 2-1 deficit.
Urshela homered for the second consecutive day with a solo drive in the sixth that extended Atlanta’s lead.
Jake Burger hit a solo homer off Braves starter Grant Holmes, putting the Marlins ahead 2-1 in the fourth. Miami tied it at 1-all when Jonah Bride homered in the second.
Holmes gave up two runs and three hits in four-plus innings. He walked one and struck out five.
Albies, who was activated from the injured list Friday after missing two months because of a left wrist fracture, gave Atlanta a quick lead with his solo homer in the first. He drove an 0-1 pitch from Marlins starter Darren McCaughan over the wall in left for his ninth homer.
“The more at-bats he gets the better he’s going to be,” Snitker said. “It’s about seeing the breaking ball and the spin.”
McCaughan allowed one run and four hits over four innings. The right-hander walked one, struck out five and hit a batter.
In their final home game of the season, the Marlins attracted a crowd of 20,104 and put their total attendance at 1,085,055 — 29th in the major leagues, ahead of only the Oakland A’s. The Marlins drew 1,162,819 in 2023, when the club ended a 20-year playoff drought over a 162-game season.
Sunday also might have been Skip Schumaker’s last home game as Marlins manager. The club and Schumaker, the reigning NL Manager of the Year, mutually agreed before the season to void the option on the third year of his contract.
“It’s kind of a weird moment, personally, in my career because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Schumaker said. “Extremely grateful that I was given an opportunity to manage the Miami Marlins, even if it is a couple of years and that’s the direction it ends up. Someone had to take a chance on me first and I’ll never forget that.”
Miami finished 30-51 at home — a drop from 46-35 in 2023 — and will play three-game series at Minnesota and Toronto in the final week of the season.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Marlins: OF Dane Myers (left ankle fracture) homered twice during a rehab game with Triple-A Jacksonville on Sunday.
UP NEXT
Braves: RHP Spencer Schwellenbach (7-7, 3.61) starts the opener against the Mets on Tuesday. New York has not announced a starter.
Marlins: LHP Ryan Weathers (3-6, 3.94) gets the start Tuesday, when the Marlins open a three-game set at Minnesota. The Twins will go with RHP Bailey Ober (12-7, 3.84).
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB