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Inciarte-inspired Braves break scoring slump, maul Marlins to stay atop NL East

Inciarte's good-fortune grounder to first base helped the Braves erupt for four runs in the 5th, and eventually walk away with their 27th victory of the season.

ATLANTA—The Atlanta Braves apparently had zero interest in being on the wrong side of history.

Not on this night.

Not against a last-place team.

What was the objectionable offense? Well, midway through the Braves' 8-1 rout of the Marlins on Saturday, before another jam-packed crowd at SunTrust Park, Atlanta was momentarily mired in a scoring slump against Miami's typically pedestrian pitching.

Thirteen straight innings, to be precise.

On Friday, the Marlins blanked the Braves, 2-0, thanks to a strong effort from starter Dan Straily and friends. But Saturday should have been an easy rebound. Atlanta should have carved up Miami's Jose Urena (0-6 entering the weekend) from the get-go.

Instead, the early returns were just as fruitless as Friday, with the Braves threatening to become the Marlins' first victim of back-to-back shutouts since May 6-7 ... in 2014.

That's right. Miami has endured more than four years without posting double bagels in consecutive outings; and here's the kicker: The late, great Jose Fernandez didn't log a single start for the aforementioned shutouts in 2014.

The starting hurlers back then: Henderson Alvarez and Tom Koehler. Go figure.

Back to the present: With the Braves needing a break on Saturday, good fortune finally came in the form of a tough-luck play from the Marlins defense.

With a runner on first and one out, Atlanta outfielder Ender Inciarte crunched a hot-shot grounder at first base, with Justin Bour accidentally deflecting the ball to second baseman Starlin Castro.

Reacting on the fly, Bour sprinted toward first base for the potential putout ... but that was also the plan for the pitcher Urena.

Having little time to get Inciarte, Castro glove-flipped the ball toward first, but it was out of reach for Bour and Urena. For a brief millisecond, each fielder yielded to the other—allowing the ball to sail back toward home plate and enabling Inciarte and Kurt Suzuki to advance to second and third base, respectively.

A Johan Camargo RBI single brought home Suzuki. Dansby Swanson's sacrificial at-bat scored Inciarte; and two batters later, an Ozzie Albies two-run single scored Camargo and Swason, thus raising Atlanta's lead to 4-1.

Yes, it wasn't the prettiest of half-innings, but it was enough to seal the first-place Braves' victory (27-17, 1/2 game ahead of the Phillies in the National League East).

The 7th and 8th innings would be fruitful, as well, with Suzuki and Freddie Freeman both launching homers off the Marlins' relief corps.

On the starting end, Braves rookie Sean Newcomb produced six solid innings of one-run, four-hit ball. With the win, Newcomb has a 5-1 mark for the season.

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