It was all working for the Braves in this one. Even the 77 minute rain delay helped the Braves get into the Marlins bullpen quicker -- and the Braves love facing opponents' bullpens.
The Braves got ahead in the first inning on a Jason Heyward triple followed by a Chipper Jones double. The Fish clawed back with another two-out run in the bottom half of the inning. But the Braves went ahead for good in the fourth inning with some two-out magic of their own, scoring twice, even Hudson had a single. Hudson gave up a rain-assisted run and loaded the bases in the bottom half of the inning, but pitched his way out of it before the tarp came on the field.
Hudson almost convinced Bobby Cox to send him back out to the mound after the lengthy rain delay, but Bobby thought better of it and called on his bullpen. It was the right move, as the Atlanta pen allowed only one unearned run through the final five innings.
The Florida pen was not as good, allowing five more runs in their five innings of work. Former Braves prospect Dan Meyer -- the key piece of the trade that brought Tim Hudson to Atlanta -- was hit up for three runs, including a bases loaded walk. All told in his one inning of work, Meyer issued five walks, which led to some good insurance runs for the Braves.
It was a good day for several Braves batters, starting with Yunel Escobar, who had his second consecutive multi-hit game, and seems to be coming out of his post-injury funk. Melky Cabrera also continues his hot hitting, as he has compiled a .435 batting average in his last 10 games, raising his average from .193 to .235. Even Chipper Jones had two hits. And of course, Martin Prado continues his hot hitting out of the leadoff spot with three hits.
Brian McCann sat out the game with a strained right quad. He is optimistic about returning to the lineup Friday night.
It was a good win for the Braves, as they take the series from the Marlins. Now we need to stay hot as the two teams from Pennsylvania come to town.
UPDATE 9am:
Dan Meyer was so bad against Atlanta, and has been so bad this season, that the Marlins designated him for assignment today and will recall Jorge Sosa to take his spot in the bullpen. Hilarious.