Eury Perez didn’t allow a hit for five innings and pitched his first career complete game as the host Miami Marlins defeated the Atlanta Braves 3-0 on Friday night.
Marlins rookie catcher Joe Mack broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning with his 14th homer of the season.
Perez (8-11) set a career high in wins, one more than last year. He allowed just one hit and one walk, striking out eight. No Braves player reached second base.
Braves catcher Sean Murphy broke up Perez’s no-hit bid with a 108-mph single on the first pitch of the sixth inning.
Grant Holmes (10-6), used in relief for just the second time this year, took the loss. He pitched four innings and allowed just three hits, including Mack’s homer, three walks and one run.
One of the early highlights in this game was a diving stop by Marlins second baseman Jared Serna, who got to his feet in time to throw out Drake Baldwin at first.
Miami nearly scored in the fifth as Mack and Otto Lopez walked before Jakob Marsee’s 387-foot drive was caught on the warning track by center fielder Michael Harris II, ending the inning.
The seventh inning featured more stellar defense for the Marlins. Shortstop Lopez threw out Harris on a 112-mph grounder, and third baseman Javier Sanoja made a diving stop to throw out Mauricio Dubon at first.
Mack put the Marlins in front in the seventh when he drove Holmes’ curveball 428 feet to right for his 14th homer. The blast had an exit velocity of 108 mph.
Miami extended its lead in the eighth as Marsee tripled and scored on Heriberto Hernandez’s single over second baseman Ozzie Albies as Atlanta was playing its infield in to try to keep Marsee from scoring. Then, with two outs in the inning, Griffin Conine added a solo homer to give Miami its 3-0 lead, and Perez did the rest, finishing with 105 pitches.
