*Photo from the Miami Herald*
I said back on March 8 that "The NL East is probably the best division in baseball. I'd say the Marlins are the only team out of playoff contention." That did not age well. Pablo Lopez had a big performance, Jesus Aguilar homered, and the Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves by a 4-2 score to get even closer to a playoff spot. The Marlins maintained their 1/2 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies for second place in the NL East, keeping them in a playoff spot, at least for the time being. The last time the Marlins made the playoffs was in 2003, when they beat the New York Yankees in the world series.
The game stayed scoreless until the 6th inning, when Chad Wallach got the Marlins on the board with an RBI single. Jon Berti followed that up with an RBI double and it was 2-0 Marlins. In the 7th, Aguilar hit a two run homer to center field, doubling the lead and making it 4-0 Marlins. The Braves were able to get on the board in the 8th inning, when Dansby Swanson hit a two run single to make it 4-2 Marlins, but the Braves were unable to get any more runs from there.
The Marlins snapped a 4 game losing streak with the win, moving to 29-28 on the season. With the Phillies just a half game back, the Marlins basically need to win every game this weekend to clinch a playoff spot. The Marlins do possess the tiebreaker over the Phillies, but that won't mean anything if the Phillies win more games over the weekend then the Marlins do. Manager Don Mattingly said that "These are stressful games. I don't think there's any getting around it.''
Lopez got the win for the Marlins, improving to 6-4 on the season, delivering when it was needed. Lopez threw 5 innings, allowing no runs on two hits and two walks, striking out 6 hitters. Lopez dropped his ERA to 3.61 as a result. Brandon Kintzler worked the 9th inning for the save, his 11th this season. Yimi Garcia, James Hoyt, Richard Bleier, and Brad Boxberger also pitched for the Marlins.
Ian Anderson took the loss for the Braves in his final start before the playoffs, falling to 3-2 this season. Anderson is expected to play a big role in the Braves starting rotation in the playoffs with Max Fried's status in doubt. Anderson threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and no walks, striking out 6 hitters. AJ Minter, Josh Tomlin, and Tyler Matzek also pitched for the Braves.
The Marlins enter a crucial weekend series against the New York Yankees, with Sandy Alcantara getting the start in the crucial game for the Marlins. The Braves welcome the Boston Red Sox to town, where Kyle Wright starts for Atlanta.
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