Eury Perez didn’t just shut down the Braves on Friday night - he put together the kind of outing that leaves a box score looking almost unreal. The Miami right-hander tossed the first complete game of his career, and the Marlins backed him with enough timely offense to beat Atlanta 3-0 at home.
Perez was in command from the start. He didn’t allow a hit over his first five innings, and by the time he was finished, he had given up only one hit and one walk while striking out eight. Atlanta never got a runner to second base, and Perez closed out the game on 105 pitches.
The win pushed Perez to 8-11 and gave him a career-high in victories, topping last season by one.
Miami finally cracked the game open in the seventh, and rookie catcher Joe Mack was the one who did it. After a scoreless battle through six, Mack sent Grant Holmes’ curveball 428 feet to right for his 14th homer of the season. The blast came off the bat at 108 mph and gave the Marlins a lead they wouldn’t give back.
Holmes, who was used in relief for just the second time this year, took the loss. He worked four innings and allowed three hits, three walks and one run.
The Marlins also made sure the Braves had no easy outs. Early on, second baseman Jared Serna turned in a diving stop and still got up in time to throw out Drake Baldwin at first. Later, shortstop Otto Lopez threw out Michael Harris II on a 112-mph grounder, and third baseman Javier Sanoja made a diving play of his own to get Mauricio Dubon at first.
Miami had a chance to score in the fifth before the big inning arrived. Mack and Otto Lopez drew walks, and Jakob Marsee nearly broke things open with a 387-foot drive, but Michael Harris II hauled it in on the warning track to end the frame.
The Marlins added to the cushion in the eighth. Marsee tripled and came home on Heriberto Hernandez’s single over second baseman Ozzie Albies, with Atlanta’s infield in. Two outs later, Griffin Conine launched a solo homer to stretch the lead to 3-0, and Perez handled the rest.
In Other News...
Braves Suddenly Have An October Concern They Cant Ignore
The Braves entered their final regular-season series looking to keep momentum rolling, but Friday night in Miami instead served as a reminder that the offense still has no margin for error. Atlanta was held to one hit in a 3-0 loss, with Sean Murphys sixth-inning single the only blemish on Eury Prezs first career complete game and shutout for the Marlins. Prez was sharp enough to neutralize just about everything, striking out eight and issuing only one walk.
There was at least a positive on the other side of the ball, where Ray Kerr and Grant Holmes combined to give Atlanta a strong pitching effort despite the defeat. Even so, the bigger issue is hard to miss: when the bats disappear like this, the Braves cant afford many more nights where one run feels out of reach, especially with October around the corner and every outing starting to carry extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Face A Playoff Roster Squeeze Behind The Plate
With a playoff spot secured, the Braves are already starting to sort through the kind of roster decisions that can shape a short October series. One of the more interesting questions is behind the plate, where Atlanta has leaned on both Drake Baldwin and Sean Murphy enough to make the position more complicated than a standard two-man setup.
Mark Bowman has projected that the Braves could carry a third catcher in Chuckie Robinson for the Wild Card round, giving the club some extra insurance if the lineup usage creates an issue or if an in-game emergency comes up. Atlanta can look at other stopgaps, including Kyle Farmer as an emergency option, but those routes come with limits, which is why the catching group is suddenly one of the cleaner examples of how a postseason roster can get tight in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Rileys Late Surge Gives Braves One Huge October Question
Austin Riley has started to look a lot more like himself at just the right time, powering up with multiple home runs after a season that included a nagging toothache and career lows in batting average and OPS. The Braves have spent much of the year waiting for that middle-of-the-order force to reappear, and Rileys recent surge has at least given them a timely reminder of how much he can change an October lineup when hes driving the ball.
Still, the broader picture is more complicated than a hot streak. Riley also set a franchise record for strikeouts, which speaks to how uneven the year has been as he works through swing adjustments before the Wild Card Series. Manager Walt Weiss has voiced confidence in the progress, but for the Braves, the real question is whether this version of Riley can carry over when the games get tighter and the margin for error gets much smaller. [Read more 🡒]