The Miami Marlins gave Sixto Sanchez a lead. He responded by shutting down the Braves
The cheers from the Miami Marlins’ dugout echoed throughout an empty Truist Park as their teammates rounded the bases.
Matt Joyce, Jorge Alfaro and Garrett Cooper belted home runs in the second, third and fourth innings against rookie Kyle Wright as the Marlins built their lead against the National League East-leading Braves.
And with top prospect Sixto Sanchez delivering yet another strong start to begin his rookie career, Miami cruised to a 8-0 win over the Braves on Tuesday to clinch their series in Atlanta. The Marlins (19-18) lead the National League with five shutout victories.
Joyce opened scoring in the second by turning on a 2-2 slider and sending it 386 feet into the right-field seat. Alfaro followed up an inning later with his own leadoff home run, also on one of Wright’s sliders. Alfaro’s home run went a projected 415 feet before landing in the Braves’ bullpen in center field.
Cooper’s home run, a two-run shot and his third of the year, went 414 feet to left in the fourth.
Alfaro, Cooper and Brian Anderson added RBI singles in the fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively, to add to the blowout win. Miami outhit Atlanta 13-4. A final Marlins run scored in the ninth when Cooper grounded into a double play with a runner on third.
The Marlins chased the Braves rookie pitcher after four innings. Atlanta only received seven total innings from its starting pitchers over the first two games of the series. Ian Anderson lasted just three innings in Miami’s 5-4 extra-inning win on Monday.
Meanwhile, Sanchez looked like he could have been in for a short night after needed 40 pitches to get through the first two innings against the Braves (24-18).
But the flamethrowing right-handed pitcher settled in and got Atlanta batters to hit early in the count.
He needed nine pitches to retire the side in the third. He only threw six pitches in the fourth, and that included giving up a leadoff single to Freddie Freeman. He only needed another 10 to retire the side in the fifth and 16 more to get through the sixth with two strikeouts and a flyout while still hitting 99 mph on the radar gun with his four-seam fastball. Sanchez exited in the seventh after allowing the first two Braves hitters to reach base via a Marcell Ozuna infield single and an Austin Riley hit by pitch.
“I’m focused,” Sanchez said through a translator. “Being out there on the mound, you’ve got to be focused and make sure your head is 100 percent and your body is 100 percent ... That’s what I’ve been doing.”
The Marlins needed two relievers to get out of the inning unscathed. James Hoyt relieved Sanchez and got the first two outs on an Adam Duvall strikeout and Tyler Flowers pop out. He walked Adeiny Hechavarria to load the bases. Richard Bleier ended the threat by getting pinch-hitter Travis d’Arnaud to hit a ground ball to Miguel Rojas for the inning-ending force out.
Sanchez hit at least 99 mph on 14 of his 32 four-seam fastballs and used the fastball for four of his six strikeouts on Tuesday. Overall, Sanchez threw 89 pitches, 60 of which went for strikes.
“I see him as an ace,” said Alfaro, who has caught Sanchez in all four of his starts. “... It’s not a secret. He throws gas.”
Sanchez’s stats through four starts: A 2-1 record, a 1.80 ERA, 25 strikeouts against just two walks in 25 innings of work.
“He’s fun to watch,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said pregame. “... He’s gonna get after guys. If he’s hitting locations and spots, he’s a handful.”
Nick Vincent threw a scoreless eighth inning and Ryne Stanek handled the ninth to seal Miami’s second consecutive win over the Braves.
Quick hits
▪ The Marlins are 11-1 this season when they score at least five runs.
▪ Miami starting pitchers have held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 23 of their last 25 games.
▪ The Marlins have hit home runs in 20 of their 26 road games this season. They also have multiple home runs in five of their past nine games.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 10:24 PM.
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