A few days on the bench appears to have done Alex Gonzalez some good.

Gonzalez delivered the decisive blow with a three-run homer and the Braves move closer to a playoff berth, defeating the Marlins 4-1.

This was Randall Delgado's fifth attempt at his first major-league win, but a second-inning home run by Greg Dobbs put a kink in those plans. That gave Ricky Nolasco a 1-0 lead and that seemed like plenty for him. Nolasco retired the Braves in order in five of his first six innings and threw only 62 pitches in that span.

After giving up the home run, Delgado gave up only three more hits, but was out after five innings having thrown 101 pitches. He struck out four and walked two.

Nolasco was cruising along, but he ultimately crumbled in the seventh. After issuing a one-out walk to Dan Uggla, he gave up a single to Brian McCann that advanced Uggla to third. Martin Prado then surprised the defense by laying down a bunt toward first that Nolasco bobbled, keeping everyone safe and allowing Uggla to score the tying run. One out later, Gonzalez smacked a line drive home run just over the left field wall to give the Braves a 4-1 lead. Nolasco gave up five hits and struck out five in seven innings.

Craig Kimbrel struck out two in the ninth for his 44th save of the season. Eric O'Flaherty tossed a perfect seventh inning for the win.

Magic number: 9