The Braves lost to the Marlins 3-2 on Saturday afternoon at Truist Park. It was another tough day for the offense, which was stifled by Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara. Both the Braves’ runs were made possible by Miami errors.
Here are five takeaways from Saturday:
1. Outside a 20-run outlier, the Braves’ offense has been consistently quiet over the past 15 games. They’ve scored more than four runs only once in that span, when they defeated the Mets 20-2 on Wednesday. In those 15 games, they’ve been held to two or fewer runs seven times.
2. Their woes continued against a talented collection of Marlins pitchers Saturday. The Braves went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10 men on base. Since their blowout against the Mets, the Braves are 5-for-28 with runners in scoring position.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
3. Much of the credit should go to Alcantara, who’s long given the Braves problems. He allowed one unearned run on five hits over six innings Saturday, which included working out of two-on jams in the first and third innings.
Alcantara lowered his career ERA against the Braves to 2.43 in six starts.
“I can’t help but like that guy, my God,” manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s another one of those guys that plays catch at 100 (mph). The stuff is so live. That’s what they look like. I’ve liked him from the get-go. I think he’s a really, really good pitcher, and the stuff is live. It’s effortless.
“He’s like one of those guys that seems like he could, once he gets loose, stay out there throwing all day. He doesn’t exert any effort in doing it. And it’s easy movement. He has a feel for the breaking ball. He has a good (change-up). This kid is really, really good.”
4. Kyle Muller made his first career home start (third overall). He wasn’t as sharp as his previous two outings, allowing three runs over 5-2/3 innings. He still continued showing promise in how he navigated troublesome spots.
“Just having the confidence when there’s – I don’t want to say ‘sticky situation’ because that’s a hot topic – but when there’s a situation like that, just being able to take a deep breath and try to execute some pitches,” Muller said. “Trust in the defense, it doesn’t always have to be a strikeout. There were some good plays back behind me. It was really cool.”
Snitker praised Muller’s ability to continue battling when he clearly didn’t have his best stuff. The towering lefty has made a strong impression since joining the Braves’ rotation. In a year where not much has gone the Braves’ way, Muller has been a shining bright spot.
5. “It was family photo day at the ballpark today,” Muller said. He had a large contingent of family and friends who came from Texas to see him make his first home start. He apologized to reporters for delaying the Zoom interview because he was visiting with them on the field following the game.
“Whenever you have close family and friends that are willing to make the trip from wherever, it’s really cool to see that because they’ve helped me get to this point,” Muller said. “So it’s kind of a celebration for everybody. So it’s really cool to have everybody out there.”
Stat to know
11.49 (Muller is striking out 11.49 hitters per nine innings to begin his career (20 strikeouts over 15-2/3 innings.)
Quotable
“He wasn’t as sharp as he had been. But that thing could’ve went haywire really quick, and I thought he kept himself together. The fastball command wasn’t the greatest, but he never gave in. He kept us in the game, gave us a chance. Love the way he competed.” – Snitker on Muller
Up next
The Braves will turn to Charlie Morton (7-3, 3.74 ERA) for the series finale Sunday. Miami will start right-hander Zach Thompson (2-2, 1.50) at 1:20 p.m.
