Miami Marlins starter Brad Hand pitches to the Atlanta Braves during their game in Miami, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2014.MIAMI - Brad Hand escaped two key jams, and the Marlins eventually got to Julio Teheran.
Hand pitched six sharp innings, Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in two runs and Miami beat the Atlanta Braves 4-0 on Sunday.
"We just needed to win a series," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "We've come out strong that first game for whatever reason and to win a series against a great team and a team that we've had really some great battles against all year (is great)."
Hand (3-6) gave up five hits and struck out three. Donovan Solano and Marcell Ozuna each drove in a run for the Marlins, who took two of three from Atlanta and won the season series 10-9.
Teheran (13-11) allowed four runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings.
"Teheran is a great pitcher. He doesn't give up very many runs, so we got that one and I just wanted to go out there and keep the lead," Hand said.
In a tight race for the second NL wild card, the Braves have lost four of five. Atlanta was shut out for the fourth time in its last eight games.
"Teheran just gave up four runs and on most nights he's got a chance to win that game," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said.
Chris Hatcher, Mike Dunn and A.J. Ramos combined to pitch the final three innings for the Marlins.
Hand retired his first 11 batters before Freddie Freeman's two-out single in the fourth. He calmly pitched out of trouble in the fourth and sixth by retiring Evan Gattis both times.
Teheran set down 13 in a row before Garrett Jones doubled in the fifth. Saltalamacchia followed with an RBI single to left field, giving Miami a 1-0 lead.
"It looked like early that that was going to be a real pitchers' battle. Especially a day game, it looked like there were some tired guys out there," Redmond said.
But then the Marlins were able to get to Teheran, who entered 4-0 with a 2.31 ERA in seven starts against Miami. He allowed four hits in the sixth, including an RBI single by Solano and an RBI double by Ozuna. The right-hander exited with the Braves trailing 3-0.
"I think they made adjustments on the way I was pitching today," Teheran said. "I think later on in the game they were right on my fastball; they were chasing my fastball really good."
Saltalamacchia added a sacrifice fly.