Dubón continues to be clutch, Braves beat Marlins with three-run eighth

MIAMI — With most of the Braves fans at loanDepot standing and chopping and chanting, Mauricio Dubón delivered.

Dubón, a Miami resident, fought off a two-strike cutter from Calvin Faucher and his slow roller to the right of first base turned into an infield single that broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning, leading to an 8-4 Braves’ win over the Marlins on Tuesday.

Dubón came up after three walks in the inning had loaded the bases. The Braves (33-16) had been 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and had left seven on base before then. But Dubón, now hitting .455 with 17 RBI when there are two outs and runners in scoring position, placed a ball in between first and second that first baseman Christopher Morel fielded — but then looked up only to find none of his teammates covering any base.

Matt Olson added some insurance by chopping a two-run single to left, putting the Braves ahead by three. Olson went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks and drove in three.

Ha-Seong Kim, 1-for-22 to start the season, lined an RBI single to center in the ninth.

Robert Suarez shut down the Marlins (22-27) with a scoreless eighth, and closer Raisel Iglesias pushed his scoreless innings streak to 27 1/3 innings.

The Braves avoided what would have been their third losing streak of the season. They improved to 3-0 after being shutout the previous game, 13-3 following a loss and 27-0 when leading after eight innings.

Braves’ starter Martín Pérez gave up three first-inning runs but battled back to complete five innings. He struck out a career-high 10, quite the feat for the left-hander who made his MLB debut 14 years ago next month and who has now pitched in 335 career games.

Didier Fuentes got the first two outs of the sixth before Dylan Lee struck out Marlins catcher Joe Mack to end the frame. Lee got out of a two-on, one-out jam in the seventh with a strikeout and soft fly to left to keep the score square.

Unlike Monday, a 12-0 loss, the Braves would not be held scoreless Tuesday.

Ozzie Albies drove in a run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to right in the first, then Michael Harris II guided an RBI base hit to center with two outs to put the Braves ahead 2-0.

Xavier Edwards got the Marlins one of those runs right back by smashing a 1-0 pitch from Pérez 385 feet out to left.

Pérez nearly got through the inning, after an infield single followed Edwards’ home run, with two strikeouts. But a two-out walk to Esteury Ruiz brought Kyle Stowers to the plate and the Marlins right fielder pulled a first-pitch sinker into the right field corner, scoring two and giving the Marlins a 3-2 lead.

A lead-off walk by Pérez to Otto Lopez came back to haunt Pérez in the third, as lead-off walks often do. Lopez would score later in the inning on a one-out sacrifice fly to center and the Marlins went up 4-2.

Marlins reliever Andrew Nardi, a lefty, was called upon with one out and Ronald Acuña Jr. on second in the fifth. Nardi’s first pitch to Olson was banged into the gap in right for an RBI double getting the Braves within a run.

Harris tied the game in the sixth with a first-pitch, 421-foot home run to center field. It was Harris’ ninth home run of the season.

On a bullpen day for the Marlins, Braxton Garrett tossed the first three innings and settled in after giving up the two runs in the first inning. Anthony Bender recorded four outs and was replaced in the fifth by Nardi who allowed the RBI double to Olson and homer to Harris.