The Miami Marlins came into Atlanta as one of the hottest teams in baseball, looking to beat up on an uncharacteristically weak Braves team that’s had Miami’s number for over a decade.
Sunday capped off a series that reminded everyone that this is still the Atlanta Braves, and a cloud of misfortune still hovers over the Marlins whenever they visit the Peach State.
For the third time in this rare five-game series, the Marlins lost a lead, albeit this time it was a razor-thin one-run lead going into the fourth inning. Marlins starting pitcher Cal Quantrill allowed a solo home run to Matt Olson with one out in the frame. It was the only run he’d allow, and just the second of three hits Atlanta could muster off of him.
Oddly enough, after completing the fourth with only 47 pitches thrown, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough pulled the 30-year-old righty in favor of Tyler Phillips.
That’s where everything went downhill.
Phillips, pitching for the first time in eight days, allowed two runs in the fifth—an RBI double off the right field wall by Jurickson Profar, and a bases-loaded wild pitch to Sean Murphy that scored Profar.
McCullough said Quantrill had been feeling under the weather coming into Sunday and the team knew it would likely be a short outing for him,
“Keeping up with him throughout the innings of the outing, we talked things through after the third inning or so,” McCullough said. “Getting us through four there with what he was able to do is what we needed today, and he was able to give it to us.”
For what it’s worth, the Braves were hitting Quantrill hard, despite the effective final line. Ten of their 12 outs came via the flyball, with a couple of catches on the warning track.
Still clinging to a manageable 3-1 deficit in the seventh, Tyler Zuber allowed a three-run home run to Marcell Ozuna. It was the former Marlin’s fourth homer of the series. It was his 22nd home run in 76 games against Miami. He came into Sunday hitting .314 with a .940 OPS in previous head-to-head matchups.
Eighteen of Atlanta’s 31 runs this weekend came from the sixth inning on.
“When (Atlanta) had their opportunities, they were able to come through with some hits with runners in scoring position, put up some crooked numbers that ended up swinging games or changing the course of the game,” McCullough said. “They put together innings and came up with more hits with guys on than we were able to this series.”
Another sign that the new-look Marlins just didn’t have it in Atlanta was their feeble showing on offense. The only run the Marlins put on the board was a Liam Hicks RBI single in the second inning.
Claimed off of waivers last month, Braves starter Joey Wentz allowed four hits over 5 ⅔ innings. The Braves bullpen allowed two singles the rest of the way.
Unless the Marlins sweep the three-game set between these teams later this month, 2025 will be the 11th consecutive season series victory for the Braves.