The Braves’ National League-leading offense was due for a quiet night. Dan Straily and company made sure such came to fruition Friday.
An encore for Thursday’s thunderous win wasn’t to be had. The Braves were shut out 1-0 in Miami, ending their four-game winning streak. It was the first time they’d been held scoreless since Aug. 4 in New York.
Mike Foltynewicz retired the first 11 Marlins before succumbing to two consecutive batters, resulting in a run. Brian Anderson doubled, and Derek Dietrich brought him in with a single. Foltynewicz struck out Straily to end the inning.
Foltynewicz revealed after the game he shook off a fastball from Tyler Flowers that resulted in Anderson’s double.
“I never shake off Flow or Kurt (Suzuki) really,” Foltynewicz said. “You shake him off, then give up a hit. ...”
Foltynewicz threw 108 pitches across six innings, striking out eight. The two fourth-inning hits were the only he allowed, and two of the four baserunners. He pitched around a pair of walks in the fifth.
The right-hander will finish his season with a 0.95 ERA against the Marlins across three starts, allowing two runs in 19 innings.
The Braves’ offense couldn’t solve Straily. Johan Camargo’s one-out double in the second, followed by Ozzie Albies’ walk, was a scoring chance wasted by Flowers’ double play. Ronald Acuna hit a two-out double the following inning, but Ender Inciarte couldn’t send him home.
Camargo has a hit in nine consecutive games against the Marlins, hitting .472 with seven doubles, two homers and nine RBIs over that span. Acuna has an extra-base hit in seven consecutive games with an at-bat against Miami.
From the fourth through sixth innings, the Braves managed one hit – a Freddie Freeman single. Straily turned in an excellent night despite sitting at 70 pitches before recording an out in the fourth. He threw 98 through his six innings.
“He pitched a heck of a game,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said of Straily. “Really good ballgame. We squared a few balls up. Two innings we had a runner on second base, couldn’t get a hit. He threw a heck of a game.”
Nick Markakis drew a leadoff walk from Tayron Guerrero in the seventh. Camargo and Albies were set down quietly, and Flowers hit one deep to left-center that needed more carry.
“I thought Tyler’s was (gone) off the bat,” Snitker said.
The Braves didn’t have another baserunner afterward.
Adam Duvall, pinch-hitting for Inciarte to start the ninth, gave one a ride to the wall that fell a few feet shy of a homer.
“Him and Flow there at the end,” Foltynewicz said. “These guys are battling until the end. It’s unfortunate. You hit a roadblock sometimes in baseball. That’s why you play 162. They did battle to the end. You just have to tip your hat to Straily and the ‘pen over there.”
The Braves were fortunate Philadelphia lost 4-2 in Toronto. They maintain a three-game lead in the NL East.
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