Braxton Garrett’s second inning to forget sets tone in Marlins’ blowout loss to Braves
The first inning went about as well as it could have for Braxton Garrett. The Miami Marlins’ left-handed pitcher needed just 11 pitches to retire the top of the Atlanta Braves’ lineup in order.
The second inning? Not so much.
The Braves teed off against Garrett and put Miami in a hold it could never recover from in a 14-6 blowout loss Wednesday at loanDepot park. Atlanta improves to 21-10, while the Marlins fall to 16-15.
The total damage in that frame: Seven runs allowed on seven hits (including a pair of home runs) and two walks. Atlanta sent 12 batters to the plate. Garrett threw 37 pitches in the frame.
Each of Atlanta’s first seven hitters reached base.
The Braves loaded the bases on a Sean Murphy leadoff walk and back-to-back line-drive singles from Ozzie Albies and Vaughn Grissom before Marcell Ozuna sent a middle-middle slider a projected 434 feet to left field for a grand slam to put Atlanta up 4-0.
Kevin Pillar followed with a single to left before Michael Harris II hit his first home run of the season — a 391-foot shot to right center — to bump the Braves’ lead to 6-0.
An Ozzie Albies two-out RBI double to left that scored Ronald Acuna Jr., who walked, capped scoring in the inning.
Garrett gave up two more home runs — a second to Ozuna in the third inning and a three-run shot to Acuna in the fifth — and ended the night giving up 11 earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings.
Garrett was just the second pitcher in Marlins history to give up at least 11 earned runs and allow at least four home runs while pitching fe
wer than five innings. The other: Jordan Yamamoto on Sept. 9, 2020, against the Braves (12 earned runs and four home runs allowed in 2 2/3 innings). Miami lost that game 29-9.
The Braves tacked on three more runs on two more home runs: An Austin Riley two-run home run in the fifth and a solo shot from Albies in the eighth, both against Devin Smeltzer.
Wednesday was just the ninth time in franchise history the Marlins have given up at least six home runs in a game and the second time they did so at home (the other home game was Aug. 13, 2019, against the Los Angeles Dodgers).
Miami scored two runs apiece in the second, third and seventh innings. Jesus Sanchez had three hits, including a two-run home run in the seventh, and scored three runs. Nick Fortes and Yuli Gurriel also had multiple hits.
Xavier Edwards, the 12th-ranked prospect in the Marlins’ organization according to MLB Pipeline, logged his first MLB hit in the seventh inning before Sanchez hit his home run.
This and that
▪ Catcher Jacob Stallings pitched a scoreless ninth inning, capped by striking out Acuna looking on an 84.9 mph four-seam fastball.
This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 9:18 PM.
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