Field Level Media
Jun 12, 2021
Zach Thompson earned his first major league win and Lewin Diaz slugged his first big-league home run as the Miami Marlins defeated the visiting Atlanta Braves 4-2 on Saturday afternoon.
Thompson (1-1), a 27-year-old rookie in his second career appearance, tossed five scoreless innings. He allowed three hits and no walks, striking out six.
Diaz, a 24-year-old first baseman, made his major-league debut last year but has played sparingly since and still has his rookie status. He homered in his 47th career at-bat, hitting a 1-2 slider to right-center off Braves left-hander Max Fried as a pinch hitter for Thompson.
Adam Duvall also hit a home run for the Marlins, who have won four of their past five games. The hot streak has come after Miami lost nine of 10 games.
Duvall has 12 homers this season, tying Jesus Aguilar for the team high. Aguilar, who drove in two runs on Saturday, leads Miami with 49 RBIs.
Right-hander Dylan Floro pitched a perfect ninth for his second career save, with both coming this season.
Atlanta has lost four straight games, tying a season high. The Braves have lost four straight games four times this season.
Fried (3-4) took the loss, allowing three runs on five hits with two walks in six innings. He did not allow a home run over his previous five outings, a streak that was broken by Duvall in the fourth inning.
Fried, now 0-3 in his career against the Marlins, got off to a bad start when he walked speedy leadoff man Jazz Chisholm Jr. in the first inning. Chisholm advanced to second on a groundout, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on Aguilar's sacrifice fly.
After Duvall homered in the fourth inning, Diaz went deep in the fifth to give Miami a 3-0 advantage.
The Braves cut the deficit to 3-2 in the eighth as Ronald Acuna Jr. singled and scored on Freddie Freeman's 15th homer of the season. Freeman, the reigning National League MVP, entered the game hitting just .195 this month.
Miami got a run back in the bottom of the eighth as Starling Marte singled, stole second and scored on Aguilar's RBI single.
Miami improved to 5-1 against the Braves this year.
--Field Level Media