The Marlins’ Nick Anderson screamed into his glove. The Braves’ Ozzie Albies raised his right arm as he rounded first base.
After five frustrating innings in which the Braves failed to score, Albies pulled an upper-deck grand slam off Anderson in the sixth, leading Atlanta to a 9-2 win over Miami Saturday night. It was Albies’ third career grand slam and his second at Marlins Park.
“Probably a word I can’t say,” Braves pitcher Mike Soroka said when asked for his joyful reaction to Albies’ homer. “It was probably the most emotional I’ve been during a start while I’ve been on the bench.
“Our guys had been fighting hard all game. Getting that big one there to blow it open was amazing.”
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Soroka (3-1) earned the win, allowing three hits – all singles -- two walks and two runs, none earned. He threw 19-of-30 first-pitch strikes, and lowered his ERA to 1.14.
“He’s a tremendous pitcher and a tremendous person, and I’ve been seeing that since the minors,” Braves teammate Ronald Acuna said of Soroka. “It doesn’t surprise me the job he’s done.”
Soroka also picked up his first career RBI on an opposite-field single in the seventh. Soroka, who is batting .111, had fun with his fellow pitchers after that hit.
“These are the guys I go through pitchers BP with daily, and we talk about hitting home runs and all that,” Soroka said. “(No homer), but a bleeder past first base works, too.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker lavished praise on Soroka.
“He just keeps pounding the strike zone,” Snitker said. “He’s an impressive young man. He never gives in – he just keeps making pitches.”
Credit: Mark Brown
Credit: Mark Brown
Albies went 2-for-6 with five RBIs. Catcher Brian McCann went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, and Acuna tied his career high with four hits, raising his batting average from .270 to .294.
Acuna left the game after his final hit of the night, which had a 110-mph exit velocity.
“I was feeling a little pain in my back,” Acuna said through an interpreter. “It’s something I’ve been playing with for a while, but when I went to run (on that final hit), I felt pain.”
Asked if he would be ready to play Sunday, Acuna smiled and said: “Tomorrow and every day.”
Acuna added that he thoroughly enjoyed Albies’ homer.
“I got more emotional than he did,” Acuna said. “I knew it was gone immediately.”
Said Albies: “I think we were both 110-percent excited – it was huge for us.”
There were no truly tense moments following Friday’s ejection of Kevin Gausman for throwing behind Marlins pitcher Jose Urena. However, Soroka did hit Marlins left fielder Peter O’Brien with a pitch, landing a 91-mph fastball to his left shoulder.
