MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Interstat) — Max Meyer pitched six shutout innings and the Miami Marlins pounded the Atlanta Braves 12-0 on Monday night at loanDepot Park. Meyer (4-0) allowed three hits and struck out six, lowering his ERA with his fourth consecutive victory. Miami erupted for five runs in the fourth inning and six more in the fifth. Joe Mack drove in four runs, including a run-scoring groundout in the second and a two-run single in the fourth. Javier Sanoja capped the fifth with a grand slam, his first homer of the season, scoring four runs. Xavier Edwards had two hits, including a home run, and two RBIs. Liam Hicks added two hits and two RBIs. JR Ritchie (1-1) took the loss for Atlanta, which managed only four hits. The Braves fell to 32-16, while Miami improved to 22-26. Attendance was 8,672, and the game lasted 2 hours, 57 minutes. The teams continue their series Tuesday.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Interstat) — The Miami Marlins erupted for six runs in the fifth inning, including Javier Sanoja’s grand slam and Xavier Edwards’ solo homer, and Max Meyer threw seven shutout innings as the Marlins blanked the Atlanta Braves 12-0 on Monday night at loanDepot Park. The Braves, who entered the game with a major-league best 32-15 record, were held to four hits and saw their offense sputter for the first time in a week. The Marlins improved to 22-26, snapping a two-game losing streak and avenging a pair of defeats to the Braves earlier this season. Meyer, a right-hander now 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA, allowed three hits over seven innings, walked two and struck out five. He retired the first seven batters he faced and faced only one real threat, in the third, when Drake Baldwin singled with one out. But Meyer induced a flyout from Ozzie Albies to end the inning. Atlanta starter JR Ritchie, a 22-year-old righty making his fifth start of the season, lasted four innings, surrendering six runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out four. Ritchie fell to 1-1. The Marlins broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second. Jakob Marsee singled with one out, then Connor Norby followed with a single to left, putting Marsee at third. After Joe Mack grounded out to first base, Marsee scored and Norby advanced to second. Javier Sanoja then grounded out to third to end the inning, but Miami held a 1-0 lead. The game remained tight until the fourth, when the Marlins sent nine men to the plate and put up five runs. Kyle Stowers led off with a single to right. Owen Caissie struck out, then Marsee was hit by a pitch, and Norby walked to load the bases. Joe Mack singled through the right side, with the ball deflected by second baseman Ozzie Albies, allowing Stowers and Marsee to score. Norby went to third. After Sanoja struck out on a foul tip, Xavier Edwards singled to shortstop, scoring Norby and sending Mack to second. Liam Hicks then doubled to deep center field, deflected by right fielder Mike Yastrzemski, scoring Mack and Edwards and giving the Marlins a 6-0 lead. Ritchie was lifted after the fourth, having thrown 80 pitches. Didier Fuentes came on for the fifth and immediately ran into trouble. Fuentes walked Stowers to start the inning, then gave up a lineout to center. He walked Marsee and Norby to load the bases, then walked Joe Mack to force in Stowers. That brought up Sanoja, who crushed a 1-2 fastball over the left-field wall for his first career grand slam, extending the lead to 11-0. Edwards followed with a solo home run to left-center, his fifth of the season, making it 12-0. Fuentes recorded only one out in the fifth and was charged with six runs, though only four were earned. He walked four and struck out one. The Marlins added two more walks and a single before the inning ended, but the damage was done. Atlanta’s offense managed little against Meyer and reliever Leo Jiménez, who worked a perfect eighth. The Braves’ only hits came from Mauricio Dubón (single in the second), Drake Baldwin (single in the third), Matt Olson (single in the sixth) and Ozzie Albies (single in the eighth). Albies’ hit came with one out in the eighth and put runners at the corners, but Jiménez struck out pinch-hitter Jorge Mateo to end the inning. The Braves went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. They failed to advance a runner past second base after the third inning. Defensively, the Braves made several routine plays, but the night belonged to the Marlins’ bats. Miami collected 10 hits, with Hicks, Mack, Norby and Sanoja each contributing two hits. Sanoja’s grand slam was the highlight of a game that saw the Marlins draw nine walks, including three by Norby and two each by Marsee and Stowers. The crowd of 8,672 at loanDepot Park saw the Marlins’ largest offensive output of the season. The time of the game was 2 hours, 57 minutes. The Braves, who had won four of their previous six games, will try to bounce back in the second game of the three-game series Tuesday night. The Marlins, winners of four of their last six, will look to build on the momentum. Miami’s bullpen, after Meyer’s departure, worked two scoreless innings. Fuentes settled down in the seventh, striking out two and allowing only one hit. Jorge Mateo, who entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, stayed in to pitch the bottom of the eighth and gave up one hit while striking out one. Didier Fuentes earned a hold. For Atlanta, the loss was its fifth shutout defeat of the season and the first time they had been held to fewer than two runs since a 3-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on May 14. The Braves’ 32-16 record still leads the National League East by three games over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins, meanwhile, improved to 4-3 on their current homestand. Xavier Edwards, who reached base three times, raised his average to .273. Sanoja’s grand slam was the first of his career and the first by a Marlins player this season. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 6, Miami Marlins 4. Interstat’s ELO system gave Atlanta a 59.10 percent probability of winning. The Braves were installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 12 went under the over/under line of 8.5.

Braves Visit Marlins in NL East Showdown MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (Interstat) — The Atlanta Braves, owners of the best record in the National League, open a four-game series against the Miami Marlins on Monday night at loanDepot Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. EDT with the forecast calling for 81 degrees and cloudy skies. The Braves (32-15) enter riding the momentum of an 8-1 victory over Boston on Sunday, a game in which right-hander Grant Holmes threw six shutout innings. Atlanta has won six of its last eight games and boasts a potent lineup that has outscored opponents by 87 runs this season. Miami (21-26) is coming off a 6-3 loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday. The Marlins have dropped four of their last six games and sit fourth in the NL East, 11 games behind the first-place Braves. Pitching Matchup Right-hander JR Ritchie (1-0, 3.12 ERA) gets the start for Atlanta. The rookie has posted quality starts in two of his three outings this season. The Marlins counter with right-hander Max Meyer (3-0, 2.70 ERA), who has been a bright spot in Miami’s rotation. Meyer has not lost a decision in five starts and has struck out 28 batters over 30 innings. Players to Watch Braves right-hander Grant Holmes has been dominant of late, allowing zero earned runs over 10 innings in his last two appearances. He struck out four in each of those outings. Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 12-for-32 (.375) with four RBIs over that stretch. Recent History The Braves took two of three from the Marlins in Atlanta in mid-April, winning 6-3 and 6-5 before Miami salvaged the finale with a 10-4 victory. Projection and Betting Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-4 Braves victory. Atlanta is a -1.5 run favorite on the run line, with the over/under set at 8.5 total runs. The series continues Tuesday and Wednesday before Thursday’s finale. Both teams then host weekend series, with Atlanta welcoming Washington and Miami hosting the New York Mets.