Field Level Media
Aug 1, 2018
Two Atlanta rookies came up big on Tuesday.
Left fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. homered for the second straight game and left-hander Kolby Allard won his major league debut, as the Braves beat the Miami Marlins 11-6 at SunTrust Park.
Acuna led off the game with a home run, his 11th, to give Allard an early lead. The lefty wound up pitching five innings for the win, the third straight for the Braves.
Allard (1-0) allowed five runs (four earned) on nine hits and two walks. The 20-year-old, the team's first-round draft pick in 2015, struck out one. He also singled and scored a run.
Acuna was 3-for-5 and drove in two runs to pace Atlanta's 19-hit attack. Acuna is seventh player in franchise history to hit double-digit home runs before turning 21.
Five other Braves had multi-hit games, with Ender Inciarte getting four, Freddie getting three, and Ozzie Albies, Nick Markakis and Dansby Swanson each getting two hits.
Markakis had a two-run homer in the third inning, his 12th, and Johan Camargo hit a solo homer in the sixth, also his 12th. Kurt Suzuki had a clutch bases-loaded double that cleared the bases in the fourth inning to give the team an 8-2 lead.
Luke Jackson worked three scoreless innings for Atlanta and struck out four. Dan Winkler allowed a run in the ninth.
The losing pitcher was Dan Straily (4-5), who gave up eight runs (five earned) on 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings. Straily gave up two home runs and dropped his first decision in three starts against Atlanta this year.
Miami churned out 11 hits, one of them a long solo homer by J.T. Realmuto, his 14th. Magneuris Sierra was 3-for-4 and drove in two runs.
The game was delayed 87 minutes because of rain.
Atlanta improved to 8-3 against the Marlins and will conclude the three-game series on Wednesday.
The Braves made a pair of roster moves to make room for Allard and newly acquired outfielder Adam Duvall. They placed veteran right-hander Peter Moylan on the 10-day disabled list with a right forearm strain and optioned outfielder Michael Reed to Triple-A Gwinnett.
--Field Level Media