Riley homers, Smyly wins on birthday, Braves top Marlins 6-4

MIAMI (AP) — Austin Riley homered and drove in three runs, Drew Smyly allowed two runs over five innings on his 32nd birthday and the Atlanta Braves snapped a four-game slide by beating the Miami Marlins 6-4 on Sunday.

Riley reached base five times, going 3 for 3 with a walk and getting hit by a pitch. Ender Inciarte also homered for Atlanta, his solo shot coming one inning after he entered the game as an injury replacement for Ronald Acuña Jr., who departed with what the Braves said was right pectoral soreness.

Starling Marte drove in three runs for the Marlins, who were bidding for their first sweep of Atlanta since 2016. Right-hander Pablo López (2-4) went only three innings, giving up four runs and six hits and seeing his ERA rise from 2.76 to 3.12.

Smyly (3-3) almost got his first career RBI, in his 43rd plate appearance. He lofted a liner to center with one out in the fifth; Marte caught it, then fired home — and even after an awkward skip off the grass, Miami catcher Jorge Alfaro handed the throw and tagged out Ehire Adrianza to end the inning.

Adrianza made up for that a half-inning later.

The Marlins got two runs in the fifth off Smyly, with Marte getting an RBI single and later scoring on a wild pitch. But Smyly escaped the inning and became eligible for the birthday win when Adrianza fielded a high chopper off the bat of Miami’s Corey Dickerson and flipped it from his glove to first in time for the third out.

Miami got a two-run single from Marte in the seventh, and he kept the Marlins within two runs with a sensational running grab to save a run and retire Kevan Smith to end the Atlanta ninth.

But Will Smith retired the Marlins in the ninth in order, getting his 12th save and ending a three-hour, 46-minute contest.

The Braves had a total of three...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Riley-homers-Smyly-wins-on-birthday-Braves-top-16245126.php