Harang roughed up in loss to Marlins

The Braves lost their first two games to the Marlins in Miami by a combined score of 18-3. It was the first time they’ve given up nine or more earned runs, while giving up 13 or more hits since back-to-back losses at Coors Field on Sept. 23 and 24, 2006, according to Baseball-reference.com.

Kyle Davis and Chuck James started those games.

“We just got our butts whipped the past two nights, plain and simple,” said Braves third baseman Chris Johnson. “There’s no really other way to describe it.”

Harang, who entered the game with the best ERA in the major leagues at 0.85 and was one of the best feel-good stories of the season, left with nine earned runs to his name in 4 2/3 innings. That more than tripled his ERA to 2.97.

The nine earned runs were the most he had allowed in a start his entire 13-year career. And he’d just limited the Marlins to one run in six innings while striking out 11 of them in his last start.

So what came off as little frustration as he was still talking to catcher Evan Gattis and his teammates as he walked off the mound, was directed at the Marlins hitters.

“It was more just a baffling, like, ‘Where were these guys last week?’” Harang said. “They’re way too comfortable. It seemed like they were all hitting like Ted Williams today.”

Facing the Braves for the second time in a week, the Marlins showed not only their adjustments to Braves pitchers but just how much better their lineup tends to hit at home.

They started Tuesday night by roughing up Alex Wood for seven runs in five innings. The Braves starters’ ERA, which was a majors’ leading 1.57 two days ago, is now 2.32.Both Wood and Harang were pitching on six days’ rest, given multiple off days recently, and that might have had an effect.

“It didn’t feel as sharp as normal,” Harang said. “That’s a big change when you go from being on five days to all of a sudden you’re on seven days, back to a college rotation again. But…we were on a roll and you’ve got to keep everybody going. And you want to keep throwing the same guys out there because everybody is doing well, you can’t make those adjustments. You’ve just got to roll with it and figure it out.”

The Marlins pelted Harang for 10 hits, including two home runs, three doubles and a triple. That’s one more hit than Harang had allowed in his first four starts combined since signing with the Braves. This is a pitcher who’s taken no-hitters into the seventh inning twice already this season.

On Wednesday night, the Marlins got their first hit four batters in and didn’t stop until Ozuna had homered on the fourth straight hit. Harang had not allowed a home run all season before Ozuna’s home run in the second, and Christian Yelich followed with a two-run shot in the fourth.

A Marlins offense that was anemic last week in Atlanta – scoring only four runs in a three-game series - has rolled up as many runs in two games – 18 – as the Braves had given up in their previous eight games combined entering this series.

The Braves offensive problems were looking pretty glaring by comparison. They have managed only one run on five hits in the first two games of this series against Marlins starters Jose Fernandez and Nathan Eovaldi. Justin Upton hit a two-run homer in the ninth, but by then the loss was a foregone conclusion.

The Braves are not much for rallying to begin with, so the major deficits of the first two games in this series seemed almost insurmountable. The Braves are 10-0 if they score first this season, 7-9 if they don’t.

They’re staring at an 0-2 deficit in this series now, and only their second series loss of the nine they’ve played this season.

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