Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson is chased by teammate Charlie Culberson, left, after Swanson hit the game-winning RBI single against the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon in Atlanta.ATLANTA – A healthy wrist helped Dansby Swanson keep up his resurgence that has added more punch to Atlanta’s lineup.
Swanson hit a game-ending single against a five-man infield as the Braves, helped by a catcher’s interference call, beat the Miami Marlins 4-3 Sunday.
“I love that weight, so to speak, on my shoulders,” Swanson said.
After Swanson hit only .238 in 2018, he had offseason surgery to have a troublesome loose body removed from his left wrist. He was upbeat throughout spring training, expressing optimism about his newly empowered swing.
So far, he has backed up his big hopes. His fourth-inning home run Sunday was his team-leading third of the season, and his nine RBIs also lead the Braves.
Miami’s Curtis Granderson tied it in the top of the ninth with a pinch-hit homer off Arodys Vizcaíno (1-0).
Freddie Freeman led off Atlanta’s ninth by hitting an infield single, with the ball glancing off pitcher Adam Conley’s glove as he tried to snare the grounder behind his back. Ronald Acuña Jr. followed with an apparent double-play grounder, but home plate umpire Will Little immediately called catcher’s interference on Chad Wallach.
“Inside pitch, I was a little too close, and it hit my glove,” Wallach said of Acuña’s bat.
Marlins manager Don Mattingly was upset Acuña wasn’t called for a swinging strike before the catcher’s interference. First base umpire Joe West said Acuña checked his swing.
“Basically they catch a break with Acuña,” Mattingly said. “That’s strike three. He was swinging, a full swing almost on a check swing.”
A passed ball by Wallach allowed Freeman to advance to third. After Mattingly brought in right fielder Rosell Herrera to form a five-man infield, leaving right field vacant, Conley (0-2) walked Markakis to load the bases.
Swanson lined the game-winning single to left, then high-stepped his way to first base as his teammates surged out of the dugout in a race to surround him for an on-field celebration.
“There was no doubt in my mind he would come through,” Freeman said. “Winners come through.”
Swanson, hitting .346, has added more depth to an Atlanta lineup also strengthened by the offseason addition of Josh Donaldson.
“It’s a tough lineup to go through,” Mattingly said.
Freeman hit a two-run homer off Caleb Smith in the first inning.
Sean Newcomb gave up two runs in seven innings in what may proved to be an important start to protect his place in Atlanta’s rotation. The left-hander overcame second-inning control problems to allow only four hits.
Ozzie Albies led off the bottom of the first with a single and scored on Freeman’s homer, his first of the season.
Newcomb gave up his only two walks in the second, including a bases-loaded pass to Miguel Rojas. Smith’s single off Newcomb’s glove drove in Starlin Castro, who had doubled.
A 14-5 record against Miami last season helped the Braves win the National League’s East Division. They’re off to a good start this year, winning two of three in the series with the Marlins before heading out to Colorado for three games against the Rockies. The Braves are 5-1 since being swept at Philadelphia to open the season.
“Everything matters,” Freeman said. “It’s going to be a battle to the end, and you have to win against your division opponents.”
Braves catcher Alex Jackson, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game, was 0-for-3 in his major league debut but earned compliments for his battery work.
“Awesome,” Newcomb said. “He called a great game. He’s a big league catcher. He proved that today.”