ATLANTA -- Jarrod Saltalamacchia knows most teams dont get many chances to beat Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. Adidas NMD Nuevos . Saltalamacchia drove in the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, Henderson Alvarez won for the first time in three starts and the Miami Marlins beat the Braves 3-2 on Thursday night. "He threw me a lot of sliders tonight, which is not what hes done in the past, but Id swung over a slider two nights ago and struck out," Saltalamacchia said. "I dont blame him. He made a mistake and I was able to do something with it." In taking three of four games, the Marlins won just their second series in the last 10 against the Braves at Turner Field. Alvarez (7-5) gave up six hits, two runs and one walk with four strikeouts in eight innings. The Marlins are 13-3 in his last 16 starts. Kimbrel (0-2), pitching in a non-save situation with the score tied 2-all to begin the ninth, struck out Garrett Jones and had Marcell Ozuna struck out, too, but the ball a wild pitch rolled a few feet from the plate after bouncing off catcher Evan Gattis shin guards and Ozuna reached safely. With Saltalamacchia batting, Ozuna advanced to second on another wild pitch and scored on the RBI single to centre, easily beating B.J. Uptons throw to the plate. Saltalamacchia went 3 for 4 with two doubles. "I think its my third time facing him," Saltalamacchia said. "Hes an All-Star closer. Hes got great stuff and really has a great idea of what hes doing out there. In that situation, Im just trying to not get too big, put a ball in play." Kimbrel, a four-time NL All-Star, allowed one hit and one run and struck out two. He blamed himself for the wild pitches. "Thats part of baseball," Kimbrel said. "Not everything goes perfect every time you go out there. Youve just got to find a way to get through it and unfortunately we didnt do it tonight." Atlanta dropped 1 1/2 games behind first-place Washington in the NL East. Miami, which is eight games out, moved into a tie with the New York Mets for third. Marlins closer Steve Cishek earned his 24th save in 27 chances, retiring Freddie Freeman, Justin Upton and Jason Heyward on fly balls in the ninth. Alvarez had struggled against the Braves, going 0-2 with a 6.86 ERA in four career starts, and he was coming off an outing that ended after 2 2-3 innings when San Franciscos Joe Panik hit a liner off his left shin. Chris Johnson hit his eighth homer, a two-run shot in the second that gave the Braves a 2-0 lead. "As far as today, that one fastball I just left out over the plate," Alvarez said through an interpreter. "He handled it, but as far as my struggles against the Braves, its just been coincidence." The Marlins tied it 2-all in the fifth on Adeiny Hechavarrias RBI single and Christian Yelichs forceout. Aaron Harang, who was attempting to win his fifth straight decision, gave up seven hits, two runs and two walks and struck out five in seven innings. Marlins manager Mike Redmond successfully challenged that Justin Upton was out to end the sixth. Upton, diving back to first base after Heyward lined out to shortstop, was originally called safe by first base umpire Rob Drake, but the call was overturned. Redmond has successfully challenged 15 of 19 calls this year. NOTES: Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez gave SS Andrelton Simmons the night off and started Ramiro Pena, who went 1 for 3, in his place. ... With a throwing miscue in Miamis 6-1 loss Wednesday to Atlanta, Saltalamacchia has 12 errors and is tied for most by a Marlins catcher in a season (Miguel Olivo 2007). ... When Freeman homered Wednesday, he snapped a stretch of 83 straight at-bats without a homer, the longest stint of his three-year career. .... Ozuna struck out eight times in the series. Adidas Gazelle Rebajas . Giants manager Bruce Bochy told The Associated Press of the decision before NL West-leading San Francisco opened a 10-game homestand Monday night with the first of three games against second-place Arizona. Adidas NMD R1 Baratas . -- Navy football player Will McKamey, who has been hospitalized since collapsing at practice three days ago, has died while in a coma. http://www.baratasnmd.com/ . Bostons bats exploded in Mondays opener, as David Ortiz belted a pair of two-run homers, Stephen Drew homered and drove in four runs and the Red Sox pummeled the Blue Jays, 14-1.SEATTLE -- Kekutah Manneh picked quite a time to score his first professional hat trick. The 18-year-old rookie scored three goals to lift the Vancouver Whitecaps to a 4-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday, keeping his teams slim playoff hopes alive. He also became the youngest player in MLS history to score three goals in a game. "Im more nervous in this interview than I was in the game," Manneh said. "This is the type of games that every player wants to play in. This is the kind of game we dream to play in. To play in front of this crowd is amazing. All we can do is get excited and play the game." Manneh was especially efficient for Vancouver (12-11-9), scoring on all three of the shots that he put on frame. He had come into the game with just three previous starts and 529 minutes in which he had managed to score two goals and register three assists. "Phenomenal game and a great night for Whitecaps fans to remember for a long time," Whitecaps manager Martin Rennie said. "We played a great game tonight. We played some great stuff, kept good possession of the ball, moved the ball well in a tough environment to come to against our biggest rival. Im really proud of the players. We worked extremely hard and took our chances when they came." All three of Mannehs goals came after he was able to slip behind the defence. The first was in the 12th minute, when Daigo Kobayashi intercepted Jhon Kennedy Hurtados clearance attempt and volleyed it to Manneh. With just one defender to beat, Manneh got behind the defence and poked it past Sounders goalkeeper Michael Gspurning. Manneh added another in the 42nd minute, catching the Sounders defence on a counter-strike. Young-Pyo Lee started it with a pass along the sideline to Camilo Sanvezzzo, who back-heeled it to Manneh. Adidas NMD R2 Baratas. Again with just a single defender to beat, Manneh pushed ahead and beat Gspurning with a low shot. The capper came in the 53rd minute after Manneh worked a give-and-go with Kobayashi at the top of the penalty area. Manneh got free on goal and put his shot between Gspurnings legs for the first hat trick in the Whitecaps MLS history. "We joked before that youre never exactly sure what youre going to get with an 18-year-old," Rennie said. "But hes unbelievably talented. ... With younger players, youre not always going to get that consistent level of performance but we did talk about it before that if he showed up he could make a huge impact on the game and he did." Nigel Reo-Coker added his first goal of the season in the 82nd minute to cap the scoring on a poor effort by Gspurning. Seattles lone goal came in the 69th minute from Mauro Rosales. The win moved the Whitecaps to within three points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. They will have to win their final two games against the Colorado Rapids -- away and at home -- in order to have any chance of qualifying for a second straight year. Theyll also need the San Jose Earthquakes drop at least two points in their final two matches. Seattle (15-10-6) meanwhile is still one point back of Real Salt Lake for the top spot in the Western Conference. The Whitecaps at least have some serious momentum. "We needed that tonight," Rennie said. "These players, I dont think people really believe in them as much as they should. I think the most important thing is the players are really believing in themselves. ... "Tonight was a really good night for us and well enjoy that. Then we have to get focused on the next one." ' ' '  |
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