The Miami Marlins delivered their most dominant home shutout victory in franchise history Monday night, overwhelming the Atlanta Braves 12-0 in the opener of a four-game NL East series at loanDepot park.
Rookie infielder Javier Sanoja provided the signature moment of the night when he launched the first home run of his career a grand slam during a six-run fifth inning that buried Atlanta early. Catcher Joe Mack added four RBIs, while Miami’s pitching staff combined to silence one of baseball’s most potent lineups.
The victory improved Miami to 22-26 and handed the Braves just their third shutout loss of the season. Atlanta entered the night with the best record in Major League Baseball at 32-16, but the Marlins dominated from start to finish.
Miami starter Max Meyer continued his breakout campaign, improving to 4-0 after allowing only three hits across six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out six and lowered his ERA to a team-best 2.85 while consistently overpowering Braves hitters with a sharp fastball-slider combination.
After Meyer exited, relievers John King, Calvin Faucher and Lake Bachar combined to finish off the shutout, surrendering just one hit over the final three innings.
Miami grabbed the lead in the second inning when Mack produced an RBI groundout against Atlanta rookie starter JR Ritchie. The Marlins then broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning highlighted by RBI hits from Xavier Edwards and Mack, along with a two-run double from Liam Hicks.
Facing reliever Aaron Bummer with the bases loaded, Sanoja crushed a 375-foot grand slam to left-center field for the first homer of his career. Batting ninth in the lineup, Sanoja became the first Marlins player since Justin Bour in 2016 to hit a grand slam from the nine spot.
The fireworks continued immediately afterward when Edwards followed with a 397-foot solo homer. Bummer endured a nightmare outing, allowing six runs on three hits while walking five batters.
Mack capped his strong night with a bases-loaded walk in the fifth, giving the young catcher four RBIs on the evening.
Ritchie took the loss for Atlanta, falling to 1-1 after allowing six hits and six runs over four innings. In a sign of how lopsided the contest became, Braves shortstop Jorge Mateo pitched the eighth inning in relief.
The Braves did receive the return of superstar right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr., who was activated from the 10-day injured list after recovering from a strained left hamstring.
The game also featured a frightening moment in the second inning when home plate umpire Alfonso Márquez was struck by a foul ball off the bat of Mauricio Dubón on a 95 mph sinker from Meyer. Márquez exited the game, causing a roughly 16-minute delay before the contest resumed with a three-man umpiring crew consisting of Jonathan Parra, Lance Barrett and Mike Estabrook.
