Despite a lineup full of players not many fans have heard of, the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins 9-8 Thursday night, thanks to a lineup where every position player recorded a base hit and either scored a run or drove one in.

It was also a special night for two Braves relievers as Andrew McKirahan recorded his first career win, and Arodys Vizcaino earned his first career save. Unfortunately for McKirahan, it stemmed from the fact that he blew the lead as he gave up three runs on three hits in one inning of work.

Miami got on the board first in the first inning off of rookie right-hander Matt Wisler. Christian Yelich drove in Dee Gordon on a single to center field. Martin Prado followed that up with a sacrifice fly that scored Derek Dietrich. The Marlins went into the bottom of the first inning with a 2-0 lead.

Atlanta erased that deficit quickly as Jace Peterson led off the inning with double. Eury Perez sacrifice bunted to the pitcher moving Peterson to third, setting up a Nick Markakis sac-fly. With two outs in the inning, A.J. Pierzynski extended his hitting streak to 11 games as he doubled off the right field wall. Cameron Maybin would come through with a two-out RBI single to center to tie the game at two.

The Braves offense continued their onslaught in the second inning as Jace Peterson knocked in Daniel Castro with a two-out RBI single to center, giving Atlanta a 3-2 lead. Eury Perez was up next and was hit by a pitch, bringing up Markakis. The veteran outfielder delivered with a two-run double to give the Braves a 5-2 lead and extending his hitting streak to 13 games.

Marlins pitcher Jose Urena lasted only two innings as he gave up five runs on six hits, while walking one batter and striking out nobody. Urena did suffer a knee injury in the second inning when Castro hit a line drive off of his knee. He would finish the inning but didn’t return after.

The Marlins would come back in the top half of the third inning as Derek Dietrich homered to right field with one out in the inning. After back-to-back singles by Yelich and Justin Bour, Martin Prado would execute his second sacrifice fly of the game, making it 5-4 in favor of Atlanta.

A couple innings later, Martin Prado would tie the game at five with an RBI single to center to score Yelich. Prado finished the game with three RBI.

Braves starter Matt Wisler had another rough outing as he went 5.1 innings allowing five runs on nine hits, while walking three batters and striking out three. Left-handed reliever Matt Marksberry came in for Wisler in the sixth inning and would go on to complete 1.2 innings without giving up a single base hit.

After the Marlins tied it up in the top of the fifth, the Braves would immediately respond again as they put a three spot in the boxscore. Cameron Maybin would work a one-out walk, followed by an RBI single by Joey Terdoslavich. It seemed like a routine single to center, but Christian Yelich would slip in the outfield -- it rained the majority of the game at Turner Field -- allowing Maybin to score and Terdoslavich to advance to third base. Adonis Garcia gave Atlanta a comfortable cushion as he belted a two-run home run, giving the Braves an 8-5 lead.

Miami would come storming back in the eighth inning as Ichiro Suzuki led off the inning with single, followed by a bunt single by Adeiny Hechavarria and a Casey McGehee single to center. Dee Gordon collected his second hit of the game as he came through with a two-run single, cutting the lead to 8-7. Dietrich would be hit by a pitch to load the bases for Christian Yelich. He would tie the game with a fielder’s choice as the Braves couldn’t turn the double play to end the inning.

Just when it looked like the Braves would cough up another game where they led in the late innings, Eury Perez would come through with a two-out RBI single to left field to score Daniel Castro, who ended the night going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Castro reached base on a single that deflected off reliever Bryan Morris (3-3), but advanced to second on a throwing error by Morris. He would be sacrificed to third on a bunt by Pedro Ciriaco, but Peterson struck out putting the pressure on Perez. He came through and drove what would be the deciding run; as the Braves would go on to defeat the Marlins 9-8 in the first game of a four-game series.

GAME TWO MATCHUP:

The Marlins will call on their ace right-hander Jose Fernandez (4-0, 2.13 ERA) to end their four-game losing streak. Fernandez has fared very well against the Braves throughout his career, going 3-1 with a 0.93 ERA in four career starts.

The Braves will send right-hander Julio Teheran (7-6, 4.59 ERA) to the mound. In 10 home starts this season Teheran has gone 5-1 with a 2.37 ERA. He already has good success against the Marlins in his career going 5-1 with a 2.54 ERA in 10 career starts. It hasn’t been a great year for the 24-year-old, but being at home against a team he’s pitched well against lines up for what could be a heck of a pitcher’s duel Friday night in Atlanta.

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About the author
Parker White
Sports journalist from Midlothian, Virginia. Co-editor and writer for the NBA and MLB sections at VAVEL USA. Follow me on Twitter @spudwhite1022