Atlanta Braves starter Max Fried delivers to the plate against the Miami Marlins during Saturday’s home game.ATLANTA – Miami Marlins pitcher Caleb Smith wasn’t satisfied with his first start in a month.
Thanks to a productive day by the National League’s worst offense, the left-hander’s return to the rotation was good enough to defeat the division-leading Atlanta Braves.
Yadiel Rivera hit a go-ahead, two-run single in the fifth inning to help the Marlins beat Atlanta 5-4 on Saturday. It’s only their second win this season over the Braves, who began the day 6 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
Smith (4-4) returned from missing 26 games with a hip injury to go six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts. It was his first start since June 6.
“Physically, I felt good,” Smith said. “Just my command wasn’t there with any of my pitches at all. It got better as the game went on. After the third inning, I kind of settled in, but it still wasn’t great.”