One of the newest Atlanta Braves gives the club a big boost on Sunday.
How many of us even knew that Robbie Erlin existed before this season began? Or cared that the Atlanta Braves decided to pick him up from the Pirates waiver wire just nine days ago?
It clear that the scouts are paying close attention to their craft, for of all the choices that might have been available when choosing a starting pitcher for today’s game, Erlin was the pick.
It was a heckuva choice.
Try this line on for size: 4 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 5 strikeouts, no walks.
It was intended to be a “bullpenning” game for Atlanta today, but the important part was the starter and how long he could go. Erlin did that job in spades.
Vital in his success was the fact that he was in-or-around the strike zone for his entire stint: 68 pitchers, 42 of them recorded as strikes.
Notwithstanding that Marlins manager Don Mattingly was ejected for arguing strike calls (primarily against his own starter), Erlin kept Marlin hitters making weak contact – giving up just one single from Jon Berti.
Those backing up Erlin fared just as well:
- Darren O’Day: 1 hit, 2K in 1.1 innings.
- A.J. Minter: 2 outs and all zeros across his line otherwise
- Shane Greene: 2 innings, 1 walk, 2K
- Tyler Matzek: 1 inning (the 9th), with 2K
It ended up being an 11K day against the fish to go with their 2 quiet hits – the second of which was erased by a double play.
Atlanta Braves flash late offense
Erlin’s efforts did not earn his a “W” in the books – partly because he didn’t get through five innings, but also because — once again — the Braves’ bats were struggling without Acuna and Albies.
This time, it was Marlins starter Elieser Hernandez who were making the Braves look foolish by scattering 3 hits against 9 strikeouts in his 5 innings of work.
In fact, it raised a few eyebrows when he was removed from the contest that quickly. For his part, Hernandez had thrown 81 pitches with 57 strikes and no walks… clearly dominating the Atlanta lineup.
Once he was gone, though, it didn’t take long for things to change. Relievers Nick Vincent, Justin Shafer, and Brian Moran immediately gave up four tallies over the next two innings — giving Atlanta a margin that would not be challenged.
In truth, Miami almost got out of it in the 6th: it took a two out, off-the-handle bloop that was just far enough into the outfield to plate the first run after less-than-ideal AB’s threatened to leave Dansby Swanson stranded after his lead-off double.
In the 7th, it was much the same: Miami had a great chance to get away clean after the first two hitters made outs.
However, Ender Inciarte started a parade with a single to left field. Swanson followed with another single. A pair of walks brought home Atlanta’s second run, and then Nick Markakis (who else could it have been?) doubled home the final pair of runs.
That’s 503 doubles for him now and 2,363 hits overall.
So it was a 4-0 final that technically brings the Atlanta Braves even with the Marlins (who still lead by percentage points at 9-6) for the lead in the NL East.
The Braves needed to take this series — and they did… barely. That 2-out-of-3 looks pretty good right now.
There is still some significant work to do, and a casual glance at the box score tells us a lot:
- Duvall: 3 strikeouts, 5 runners left on base
- Camargo: 4 strikeouts
- Flowers: 3 strikeouts
- Riley: 2 strikeouts (0 for 4)
Adam Duvall has been hitting well, but had a bad game today. The others… well, let’s just say that Camargo and Riley are both still “on the interstate” with batting averages under .200.
The Braves (13-10) head home to greet the Nationals (8-11) over the next three days, so the opposition pitching won’t get a lot easier.