The Atlanta Braves swept their first-ever sweep at the new Marlins Park in Miami, doing so with superb pitching and timely hitting. Mike Minor, who has struggled badly in the last month, pitched well in his five innings of work. The Braves used Minor's start and four homers to lead them to a 8-2 win over Mark Buehrle and the Marlins.
Minor had not pitched in 10 days and came out a bit rusty, but the young lefty settled in nicely against a hot lineup. He surrendered just one run on four hits and five walks, striking out four in the process. He threw 103 pitches in his five innings of work.
Jose Reyes gave Miami a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run, but a two-out, two-run homer down the left field line from Martin Prado gave the Braves a 2-1 lead in the sixth.
Jason Heyward hit a monster home run in the top of the seventh inning to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead. The distance on the shot: 425 feet. Prado followed in the eighth inning with an RBI-single to score Andrelton Simmons to make the score 4-1.
Giancarlo Stanton cut the lead to 4-2 with a homer in the bottom half of the eighth, but the Braves responded yet again. Heyward hit yet another solo home run in the top of the ninth, this one going an estimated 410 feet. Michael Bourn then followed with a two-out, three-run homer to right field to move Atlanta up 8-2.
Cristhian Martinez came in for the ninth and allowed two hits to lead off the inning, but settled down nicely to end the game without a run scoring.
The Braves are now 4-1 against the Marlins this season. The two clubs will not meet again until July.
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