ATLANTA -- Tom Seaver nearly had to make room for Ricky Nolasco in the record books.

Nolasco just missed Seaver's major league record of 10 consecutive strikeouts on Wednesday when he struck out nine batters in a row.

But the right-hander set a franchise record with 16 strikeouts as the Marlins pushed the Atlanta Braves to the brink of elimination in the wild-card race with a 5-4 win at Turner Field.

``I haven't had that feeling since high school when I pretty much had a good idea of what was going to happen,'' Nolasco said. ``But, still, against this lineup, I would never think I would strike out this many hitters.''

Nolasco retired the side on strikeouts in the third, fourth and fifth innings before Adam LaRoche ended the streak with a leadoff double in the sixth inning.

It was only the fourth time in major-league history -- and never in the American League -- that a pitcher has struck out at least nine in a row.

Jake Peavy did it in 2007 and Mickey Welch in 1884. Welch pitched when the mound was 50 feet from home plate.

``He had everything going,'' Braves manager Bobby Cox said of Nolasco. ``That many strikeouts, you have to.''

Nolasco, who was making his final start of the season, set the tone early for his historic night, striking out Nate McLouth and Martin Prado to start the game.

He had three strikeouts by the start of the third when he began his remarkable run, striking out LaRoche to begin the streak of nine.

After Nolasco had struck out six in a row, Brian McCann nearly ended the streak when he led off the fifth by hitting a towering fly ball to right.

LUCK ON HIS SIDE

But the ball hooked foul of the pole, and McCann ended up becoming Nolasco's seventh victim in a row.

``I thought it was fair at first,'' Nolasco said of McCann's long foul. ``But then I saw it hook.''

Garrett Anderson and Yunel Escobar each struck out to complete the string.

Nolasco went on to strike out four more Braves before exiting with two outs in the eighth.

The 16 strikeouts were the most thrown by any pitchers in the majors this season, and the most since Johan Santana struck out 17 with the Twins in 2007.

The mark also broke the team's regular-season and playoff record. A.J. Burnett had twice struck out 14 for the Marlins in the regular season and Livan Hernandez whiffed 15 in a 1997 playoff game for the Marlins.

``I'm not much of a history person, but maybe if my future kids one day comes across it, they can be proud of it,'' Nolasco said. ``Hopefully one day I'll be able to look back and be proud of it.''

The 16 strikeouts matched the record for an opposing pitcher in Atlanta since the Braves relocated to Atlanta in 1966. Sid Fernandez of the New York Mets also struck out 16 in a 1989 game against the Braves.

The Marlins, who were eliminated from the wild-card race on Tuesday, pushed the Braves to the edge. The Marlins struck for three runs in the third off Javier Vazquez and added two more in the fifth on Ross Gload's sixth home run.

Atlanta cut the lead in the seventh. After Anderson singled with two outs, Hanley Ramirez was charged with an error that put Braves at second and third. LaRoche drove them in with a single, but Nolasco struck out Matt Diaz to end the inning. It was his 15th whiff.

Even though he had thrown more than 100 pitches, Nolasco returned to the mound in the eighth and promptly whiffed Brooks Conrad for his 16th strikeout. After giving up a walk to McLouth and retiring Chipper Jones on a fly ball, Nolasco was replaced by Dan Meyer after throwing a season-high 123 pitches.

Nolasco improved his record to 13-9 while lowering his earned run average to 5.06. He allowed only four hits and two walks.

Nolasco wasn't the only Marlin to reach a milestone on Wednesday.

With his third-inning single, Chris Coghlan matched his own club record for most hits in a month. It was his 47th hit in September. That's the most hits by a rookie in September since Chuck Klein had 50 hits in 1928.

A BIG TURNAROUND

But Nolasco was the story. Demoted to the minors in May when he got off to a bad start, Nolasco capped off his turnaround with Wednesday's performance.

``My back was against the wall there for awhile,'' Nolasco said of his early-season struggles. ``I just told myself that no matter what was going to happen, I was going to finish strong. And that's something I'm proud of. And it's something that will make me hungry to do better next year.''

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