Craig Kimbrel got the third strike. He just didn’t get the out.
The Braves’ rock-solid closer threw two ninth-inning wild pitches – one on a strikeout of Marcell Ozuna – that led to a 3-2 loss to the Marlins Thursday night at Turner Field. The pitch to Ozuna, which bounced off catcher Evan Gattis’ shin guard, got far enough away that the centerfielder beat the throw to first base. It would have been the second out of the inning.
Kimbrel then uncorked another wild pitch with Jarrod Saltalamacchia at the plate and Ozuna scampered to second base. The catcher singled to center for his third hit of the game to score Ozuna with the decisive run.
“I was trying to throw a strikeout pitch,” Kimbrel said of the first wild pitch. “It kind of got away from me a little bit. It’s unfortunate that the ball skipped a little too far away and he got on first.”
The Braves (55-47) dropped three of four in the series against the Marlins. They are 3-4 to start a season-long 11-game homestand and dropped 1-1/2 games behind the idle Nationals in the N.L. East.
“We’ll we’ve got four more going and then we go 7-4 and we’ll be OK,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We’ve got the San Diego Padres coming in and we got to start hitting the ball. We’ve got to start scoring runs and we’ll be fine.”
Braves starter Aaron Harang was credited with another quality start. The right-hander allowed two runs in seven innings but was not around for the decision. It was the 18th quality start for Harang, tied for second in the National League. The stat didn’t matter in the end.
Harang cruised through the first four innings, allowing just two hits. Over the next three, he allowed two runs and five hits. He was relieved by Jordan Walden in the eighth after 102 pitches with two walks and five strikeouts. He is 0-1 record with a 5.17 ERA in four starts against the Marlins this season. Harang (9-6) threw six scoreless innings but didn’t figure in a 2-1 loss to the Phillies in his last outing on July 19.
“They are a good young team,” Harang said of the Marlins. “They are only going to get better with experience. They are pesky. They have their big power guys but they have good young hitters who really have a good idea of the strike zone. They are going to battle you every time they go out there.”
Chris Johnson delivered a two-out, two-run homer in the second inning to account for the Braves’ scoring. Johnson drilled the first pitch he saw from Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez over the left-field fence for his eighth homer of the year.
The Marlins evened the score with two runs in the fifth. Ozuna walked and Saltalamacchia doubled to open the inning and both would score. Adeiny Hechavarria drove in a run with a bloop single to right. Christian Yelich just beat out a near double-play grounder to second to push across a run.
Justin Upton had three hits for his ninth multi-hit game in his last 16 for the Braves. He has hit safely in 13 of 17 games and his 23-for-63 (.365) during the stretch following his eighth three-hit game of the season.
Alvarez (7-5) got the win for the Marlins (48-53), allowing two runs and six hits in eight innings. Saltalamacchia had three hits, including two doubles. Steve Cishek retired the Braves in order in the bottom of the ninth for his 24th save.
Kimbrel (0-2) entered in the non-save situation. He said he and the team will put the loss behind them as the open a four-game series with the Padres Friday.
“It’s part of baseball,” Kimbrel said of the loss. “Not everything goes perfectly every time you go out there. You just have to find a way to get through it. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do it tonight.”
