Marcell Ozuna hit a three-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 9-7 win over the Miami Marlins Sunday.
Ozuna finished 3-for-5 and drove in four runs, the final three coming on his seventh homer of the year, after Atlanta was down to its final strike against Marlins’ closer Tanner Scott (0-3).
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias then retired all three Miami batters in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his third save of the year.
A.J. Minter (2-1) earned the win after striking out three batters in a scoreless bottom of the eighth inning.
After a scoreless first inning, Matt Olson and Ozuna began the second inning with back-to-back singles before Adam Duvall drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the second, Bryan De La Cruz tied the game with a solo home run off Atlanta starter Charlie Morton. It was the second blast of the season for De La Cruz.
After Ronald Acuna walked and stole second in the top of the third, Miami third baseman Jake Burger’s throwing error on an Ozzie Albies infield single allowed the Braves to take a 2-1 lead. Albies then stole second before Olson drove him in with a single for the third Atlanta run.
Duvall led off the fourth with his first home run of the year, followed by an Acuna RBI single later in the inning, extending the Braves’ lead to 5-1.
Miami’s Josh Bell started the bottom of the fourth with a double and was driven in on Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s double two batters later. De La Cruz then singled in Chisholm, cutting the Marlins’ deficit to 5-3.
After Miami’s starter Jesus Luzardo got through a clean top of the fifth, Vidal Brujan doubled and was moved to third on Nick Fortes’ single to start the bottom of the inning. Luis Arraez then hit into a double play, but scored Brujan to trim the Braves’ lead to 5-4.
Luzardo was then replaced by Sixto Sanchez going into the sixth inning, after five innings of seven-hit, five-run ball, while striking out four and walking one.
Sixto Sanchez pitched a scoreless sixth, before Jesus Sanchez tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, chasing Morton, who was replaced by Dylan Lee.
On the second pitch to Nick Gordon, Lee gave up a two-run homer which gave Miami a 7-5 lead. One of those runs was charged to Morton, who finished with 5 2/3 innings pitched, seven hits, and six runs allowed. He struck out eight and walked one.
The homer was Gordon’s third of the season.
Anthony Bender retired Acuna and Albies to start the seventh, before allowing singles to Riley and Olson and then a run-scoring double to Ozuna, cutting Miami’s lead to 7-6.
In the ninth, Acuna led off with a single, but Scott retired the next two batters before walking Olson and allowing Ozuna’s game-winning homer.
–Field Level Media
