Sept. 21—The host Miami Marlins, with the worst record in the National League, beat the Atlanta Braves 4–3 on Friday night, ending their playoff hopes.
Atlanta (83-71) is chasing the New York Mets for the final NL wild-card playoff spot.
Miami (57-97) has had some success against Atlanta this season and is 4-7 with two games remaining this weekend.
Valente Bellozzo (3-4) got the win, allowing three runs in 5 1/3 innings. Miami used four relievers to get the win, with Jesus Tinoco earning his second save with a perfect save in the ninth.
Charlie Morton (8-9) allowed four walks, seven hits and four runs in six innings.
Miami gave Morton a three-run lead in the first inning with Connor Norby’s single and Jesus Sanchez’s walk. The Marlins took advantage with Jake Berger’s RBI double, Kyle Stowers’s run-scoring single and Jonah Blades’s sacrifice fly.
Bellozzo stayed out of trouble in the second half. Atlanta got a run on the corners with two outs, then Bellozzo got Orlando Arcia swinging and missed a chance to bat cleanup at 3-2, but eventually fell behind on the road.
Atlanta loaded the bases with one out in the third. Former Marlins slugger Jorge Soler’s quest for a grand slam ended with a 380-foot sacrifice fly that helped Atlanta cut the deficit to 3–1.
In the fourth round, after missing the first round, Arcia hit a home run off the first baseman clearing the zone to make the score 3–2.
In the fifth inning, Miami increased its lead to 4–2 when Nobby loaded the bases, stole second, advanced on Sánchez’s grounder, and scored on Morton’s curve ball.
Atlanta got a run back in the sixth inning when Rafael Laureano hit a 404-foot home run to right-center.
In the seventh inning, former Marlins star Marcell Ozuna nearly tied the game with two outs and no score. Instead, his 387-foot drive hit the right-center wall for a long single. Then, with two runners on, Soler struck out, ending the threat.
The Braves then struck out just three batters in the eighth and ninth innings to give Miami the win.
——Visual-level media
