The Tomahawk Times - Olsen baffles Braves, Marlins win 4-0

MIAMI -- The Atlanta Braves' offense was unable to do anything against Scott Olsen  and two Florida relievers, as the Florida Marlins took a 4-0 victory on Tuesday in the first of a three game set.

The Marlins needed little else behind Olsen (2-0) to send the Braves to their second straight defeat. His seven inning effort limited Atlanta to just five hits without a walk while racking up three strikeouts.

Atlanta's offense staggered for most of the game after the top three in the order. Kelly Johnson, Yunel Escobar and Chipper Jones accounted for five of the six hits on the night. The four through nine spots in the line-up went a combined 1-for-21. The lone hit belonged to Matt Diaz.

Jair Jurrjens (1-2) gave Atlanta a gutsy start in his own right, as he battled some command problems to frustrate the Marlins for six innings. The young righty threw just 56 of his 100 pitches for strikes but allowed only two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out five.

Florida's scoring began in the fourth inning after Jurrjens issued a two-out free pass to Josh Willingham. First baseman Mike Jacobs followed with a run-scoring double that gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead. Dan Uggla stroked an RBI-triple in the sixth to account for all of the scoring against the Braves starter.

The Braves bullpen faltered late in the game as well. Left-handers Royce Ring and Will Ohman allowed the Marlins to pick up two runs in the eighth. Ohman issued consecutive walks in the inning after Ring had already loaded the bases, giving Florida the eventual 4-0 final.

Jones' bat continues to sizzle for Atlanta this season, as he collected two more hits in four trips to the plate. On the season, Jones leads the National League and is second in Major League Baseball with a .415 batting average.

Tuesday's defeat sends the Braves to just 2-5 on the current roadtrip and a 5-8 record on the season. Atlanta sits in fourth place in the NL East. The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets have .500 records (7-7 and 6-6 respectively), trailing the surprising Marlins, now 8-5, to open the season.

On Deck: The Braves and Marlins continue the series on Wednesday. Tim Hudson will face Mark Hendrickson of Florida in the middle game of the series. Game time is set for 7:10 PM EST.

Niteowl049AAA-er

591 days ago

Score 0

Braves have two wins each from Hudson and Smoltz and one win from Jurrjens with no wins from Glavine or the fifth starter. They have lost 5 of their last 7 games. In 61 innings the first four starters have not given up a home run. The bullpen has given up 7 home runs in 23 innings. Now our two best bullpen men in Soriano and Moylan are on DL.

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