Timely hits, lights-out 'pen power Marlins over Braves

ATLANTA -- Jesús Sánchez and Jake Burger powered the Marlins' offense while the bullpen shut down the mighty Braves bats to help Miami eke out a 4-3 win over Atlanta on Saturday night at Truist Park.

In the top of the third inning, Burger lifted a 1-0 fastball from Braves starter Grant Holmes just beyond the outstretched arm of center fielder Jarred Kelenic for his 17th homer of the season. The solo shot tied the game at 1 and was Burger’s fourth in his past five games.

“We had some big hits at the top of the order, which was really good,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “Burger and [Xavier] Edwards, and obviously, Sánchez had a big night tonight. He’s been kind of scuffling a little bit lately, and he’s been a little bit frustrated. For him to come out like that was one of the reasons we won tonight.”

With the Marlins trailing, 3-1, and runners on second and third in the top of the fifth, Burger smacked a hard single to right, scoring Nick Fortes and advancing Edwards to third. Edwards would score the tying run on Sánchez’s double that bounced high off the wall in left-center field, chasing Holmes with the score once again tied.

“I try sometimes to pull the ball, try to show up on power,” Sánchez said through translator Luis Dorante Jr., “but I end up showing who I am, which is the opposite-field hitter.”

Another Sánchez two-out RBI double in the seventh -- this one along the left-field line off Pierce Johnson -- scored Fortes again to give the Marlins a 4-3 lead.

“I think him going the other way was a big deal,” said Schumaker. “He took the slider the other way off the top of the wall [in the fifth], which is a good sign because usually you’re trying to pull-hook that a little bit. For him to stay inside of it and hit it in the gap off the wall, that’s a really good sign -- and then two strikes, punching it down the line.”

The Miami bullpen, meanwhile, combined for 6 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. Jesus Tinoco entered in the bottom of the third and promptly struck out Jarred Kelenic to strand runners at the corners, then sent the Braves down in order in the bottom of the fourth.

Declan Cronin followed with two scoreless innings to earn the win, culminating with a slick ground-ball double play when Emmanuel Rivera tagged third base and then fired across to first. Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi threw a perfect inning apiece in the seventh and eighth, respectively. And a day after his blown save and loss, Calvin Faucher weathered Kelenic’s one-out single in the ninth, striking out the last two Braves hitters to hang on for the save.

“It was great, Skip having that trust in me to go back out there the next day,” Faucher said. “Us in the bullpen, any time our names are called, we’re going to be ready and try and do what we’re asked.”

“The bullpen was lights-out with a lot of swing-and-miss,” Schumaker said. “Come to a tough environment against Atlanta and had a chance to win yesterday, and then [to] come back and win after a tough loss, it shows you a lot of what that bullpen’s all about.”

Atlanta scored three runs against Miami starter Kyle Tyler, who walked four batters, including three in the first inning. He lasted just 2 2/3 frames while also allowing five hits, including a no-doubt homer to left off the bat of Marcell Ozuna in the third.

“I just couldn’t get ahead of guys when I needed to,” Tyler said. “The stuff was there, just wasn’t executing my pitches when I needed to. But everybody stepped up after I came out and did what we needed to do to get the win.”

The Marlins will vie for a series split Sunday as right-hander Edward Cabrera looks to maintain momentum, averaging five innings and two earned runs in his past three starts. A win would also extend Miami’s streak without a series loss to five series and give the club a winning record on its nine-game road trip.