Five pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout as the first-place Atlanta Braves broke a two-game losing streak with a 4-0 win over the host Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon.
Braves starter Kevin Gausman (9-9) allowed one hit -- a single by opposing pitcher Pablo Lopez -- one walk and no runs in five innings. He struck out five. Gausman is 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA since Atlanta acquired him from the Baltimore Orioles in a July 31 trade.
Jesse Biddle, Dan Winkler, Brad Brach and A.J. Minter each pitched one scoreless inning to complete the shutout.
Ronald Acuna Jr., Ender Inciarte and Tyler Flowers had two hits each to lead Atlanta's offense.
Marlins rookie Lopez (2-4) took the loss, giving up six hits, five walks and one run in 5 2/3 innings. He fanned four. Atlanta stranded nine runners in the first six innings.
In a series between National League East rivals, the last-place Marlins settled for a four-game split. The Braves, though, won the season series, 14-5.
The Braves, who snapped a 21-inning scoreless streak with a solo homer in the ninth inning Saturday in a 3-1 loss to Miami, had a great chance right away Sunday. Acuna led off the game by extending his hit streak to 10 with an opposite-field single and advanced to third when the next batter, Inciarte, hit a ground-rule double that one-hopped over the wall in right-center.
Freddie Freeman was retired on a comebacker and Nick Markakis was intentionally walked before Lopez stranded the bases loaded. Lopez set down Johan Camargo on a shallow flyout and Charlie Culberson on a slow roller to shortstop.
The Braves finally broke through with the game's first run in the sixth. Markakis drew a leadoff walk on a 3-2 pitch, advanced to third on a pair of groundouts and scored on Flowers' single.
Atlanta broke the game open with three runs in the eighth. The Braves loaded the bases with one out on a single, a hit-by-pitch and a walk, then cashed in with an RBI groundout by Acuna, a throwing error by Marlins first baseman Derek Dietrich and an Inciarte sacrifice fly.
--Field Level Media