ATLANTA -- What’s a ballclub to do after getting blown out to open a series it hoped would showcase the progress it has made over the last two months?

Flush it.

While the Marlins entered Friday with the best record (23-8) in the Majors since May 26, this weekend could be seen as a litmus test to judge how the underdogs stack up against the top dog in the National League since facing off in early May. 

The Braves, who were a half-game worse during that span (22-8), delivered the first blow in a 16-4 rout of the Marlins at Truist Park. Miami surrendered a season high in runs and homers (six) as its five-game win streak was snapped.

“Obviously just flush it, have a short-term memory,” said right-hander Bryan Hoeing, who gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. “Baseball is a very humbling sport. A lot of highs, a lot of lows. Definitely look at some video and see what I can do better the next outing. But overall, just flush it and move on, and get ready for the next outing.”

Atlanta has won seven of the eight meetings between the NL East rivals this season, and 28 of the last 37. In this span, the Braves have outscored the Marlins, 70-26. Miami has a -12 run differential this year; it is +32 vs. every MLB team other than Atlanta. 

Here’s a closer look at the head-to-head numbers this season:
• Three games giving up at least five homers to the Braves

• Two of the Marlins’ four 10-plus run losses this season have come vs. the Braves

• The Braves' 1.051 OPS vs. the Marlins is the highest for a team against a single opponent this season (min. 5 games played)

• The Marlins' 9.00 ERA vs. the Braves is the second highest vs. a single opponent this season (min. 5 games played)

• 18 of the 86 homers (21%) surrendered by Miami have been to Atlanta

“I don't really care who we get blown out against,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “A blowout is not fun against any team, and you're just kind of waiting for that thing to be over because you just want it to be over as quick as you can after it kind of got out of hand.

“I know it was against the Braves and somebody in your division -- I get that part. But hopefully we can come back tomorrow and hopefully even up the series.”

Schumaker often talks about starting pitching needing to set the tone. The rotation has been a big reason for his club’s recent success. The starters entered Friday with a 0.62 ERA over their last seven games. 

Since taking over for injured Edward Cabrera two turns ago, Hoeing hadn’t given up a run in nine innings. That lasted three batters into Friday’s series opener, when Austin Riley produced an RBI double. Both Matt Olson and Eddie Rosario would belt two-run homers in a five-run first.

“I would just say it's a little bit of everything,” Hoeing said. “Getting behind in the count definitely was not helping me at all. When I did make mistakes, they definitely took advantage of that and put the ball in play. It was just tough because coming into this we had really good momentum coming in as a team, and then giving up five in the first inning puts our offense in a tough position to come back from.”

After the Marlins chipped away against Mike Soroka with third-inning homers by Jesús Sánchez and Jorge Soler to make it a 5-3 deficit, the Braves outscored the Marlins 11-1 the rest of the way.

Rookie Eury Pérez and reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara will start Saturday and Sunday, respectively, countering Charlie Morton and Spencer Strider. The Marlins hope to turn the page; after all, they still put together the best June (19-8) in franchise history.

“We've seen it obviously this year,” said catcher Jacob Stallings, who exited in the fifth with left ankle soreness. “They're probably the best lineup in baseball one through nine and have Michael Harris [II] hitting ninth. That's a pretty good lineup, so it's just tough. They make you pay for mistakes, and they play really well in this ballpark, too. 

“It's a good park to hit in, so it's just really about keeping the ball in the ballpark [as] the main thing, and obviously we weren't able to do that as much tonight. But we've got two good dudes going the next two days, so hopefully we can get some better results.”