The Braves’ pitching staff largely took care of business despite an untraditional assignment in Friday night’s opening game of the regular-season sendoff series in Miami
The offense, which was not tinkered with and likely resembled what could be the team’s postseason lineup, did not seem to get the memo.
Atlanta managed just one hit off Marlins right-hander Eury Pérez, who threw his first career complete game and first career shutout in a 3-0 Miami win. Pérez struck out eight and walked one, facing
just two over the minimum.
The lone Braves hit, a sixth-inning single from Sean Murphy to break up the no-hit bid, was immediately erased by a double play.
That offensive no-show negated what had been a strong combined pitching performance from Ray Kerr and Grant Holmes.
Kerr made his first start of the season as an opener while Holmes pitched four innings out of the bullpen, each testing out potential new postseason roles.
After Kerr allowed the first two Miami batters to reach on singles, he escaped the first-inning jam unscathed and retired eight of the final nine batters he faced to finish with three scoreless innings. The only additional baserunner he allowed, a leadoff walk in the second, was immediately erased by a double play.
Holmes (10-6) replaced him and navigated two hits and three walks through his first three innings before allowing the game’s first run on a solo homer from Marlins catcher Joe Mack with one out in the seventh.
Didier Fuentes was tasked with the eighth inning and had a rare ineffective outing, allowing two runs on five hits — both the most he’s allowed since he gave up seven hits and four runs in an April relief appearance at Washington.
The first five Miami batters of the inning had hits off Fuentes, who got the first two outs via a baserunning mistake and a pickoff at second base. Heriberto Hernandez made it 2-0 with an RBI single after Jakob Marsee’s leadoff triple, and Griffin Conine closed out the scoring with another solo homer.
The Marlins somewhat surprisingly sent Pérez back out to the mound for the ninth as he approached 100 pitches and he retired Murphy, Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr. in order to finish just six pitches shy of a Maddux at 105 pitches.
Game 2 of the series is slated for Saturday at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
