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Major League Baseball
Miami 6, Atlanta 4
When: 7:10 PM ET, Saturday, September 24, 2016
Where: Marlins Park, Miami, Florida
Temperature: Indoors
Umpires: Home - Jeff Nelson, 1B - Doug Eddings, 2B - Cory Blaser, 3B - Adam Hamari
Attendance: 26178

MIAMI -- Dee Gordon, who led the National League in batting average and steals last season, hasn't been that same player this year.

An 80-game PED suspension pretty much ruined Gordon's year, and his electric speed at the top of the lineup has often been missing when the Miami Marlins needed him most.

On Saturday night, though, Gordon was a difference maker, much like he was in 2015.

Gordon had two hits, two walks and three steals and scored twice as Miami, hanging on to its slim NL wild-card playoff chances, defeated the Atlanta Braves 6-4 at Marlins Park.

"It's been up and down this year, but that's baseball," said Gordon, who singled and scored in the first and singled and scored in the third, snapping a 2-2 tie. "You never know what day is your day. Today happened to be my day."

It came at a great time as Miami (77-78) snapped the Braves' seven-game win streak, which was the longest run by Atlanta (63-92) since 2014.

Even so, the last-place Braves are 11-7 against the Marlins this year, with only Sunday's game left in the season series.

Worse yet for the Marlins, they are five games behind New York and San Francisco in the wild-card race. They are also behind the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates and have only seven games left.

Meanwhile, Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman had an RBI single and a solo home run. He has 32 homers this season, and he also extended his career-high hit streak to 28 games.

Freeman's hit streak is the longest by a Braves player since Dan Uggla went on a 33-game run in 2011.

"It feels good," Freeman said of his streak. "I've worked really hard, and things are clicking right now. I'm getting pitches to hit, and I'm not missing."

In addition to Freeman, the much-improved Braves, who are 19-3 since Aug. 21, got a big game from Ender Inciarte, who had three hits.

Inciarte, Atlanta's leadoff batter, helped the Braves score quickly. He led off the game with a single, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on Freeman's hit-streak-extending single.

Miami answered quickly, getting a two-run homer by Derek Dietrick in the bottom of the first off Braves starter Austin Blair (1-7). Gordon drew a leadoff walk and jogged home after Dietrich pulled a shot that was just one foot inside the foul pole in right field.

Atlanta tied the score 2-2 in the second. Anthony Recker led off with a double, moved to third on a flyout and scored on Gordon Beckham's sacrifice fly.

"We kept fighting back," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "We gave ourselves a chance."

Miami, however, took the lead for good in the third when Giancarlo Stanton's swinging bunt drove in Gordon.

The Marlins scored two in the fourth for a 5-2 lead. The first three batters -- Adeiny Hechavarria, rookie pinch-hitter Destin Hood and Gordon -- singled to load the bases with no outs. The Marlins cashed in on Marcell Ozuna's sacrifice fly and a wild pitch by reliever Jed Bradley.

Freeman homered on the first pitch of the sixth to cut Atlanta's deficit to 5-3.

The Braves made it 5-4 in the seventh. Pinch-hitter Mallex Smith drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on reliever Fernando Rodney's wild pitch that sailed high.

Miami increased its advantage to 6-4 in the bottom of the seventh. Stanton singled and was replaced by rookie pinch-runner Yefri Perez, who stole second and scored on J.T. Realmuto's single.

Marlins starter Wei-Yin Chen lasted just four innings, requiring Miami to call on its bullpen early and often. The Marlins used six relievers, including Brian Ellington (4-2), who got the win, and A.J. Ramos, who posted his 39th save of the season.

But the biggest key was Gordon, who energized the team.

"When Dee is able to get on, it puts pressure on the pitcher, and it puts pressure on the defense," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "What I liked about tonight was that he was willing to take his walks. You want your leadoff guys to get on no matter how."

NOTES: LHP Adam Conley (8-6, 3.94 ERA) starts Sunday against Atlanta. Conley hasn't pitched since Aug. 13 because of a finger injury. ... Marlins RHP Jose Fernandez, who had been scheduled for Sunday, was moved back to Monday against the New York Mets. Fernandez is 29-2 with a 1.49 ERA in his career at Marlins Park. ... Braves RHP Julio Teheran, who starts against the Marlins on Sunday, is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA in three starts against Miami this year. ... 1B Freddie Freeman on Friday became the second Braves player since 1966 to get 80 extra-base hits in a season. Ex-Braves 3B Chipper Jones set the franchise record with 87 extra-base hits in 1999 when he won NL MVP. ... Miami Heat forward Justise Winslow, who threw out the first pitch in Thursday's opener of the Braves-Marlins series, also caught -- on a bounce -- a homer by Braves LF Matt Kemp later that night.
Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Atlanta   Miami
Aaron Blair Player Wei-Yin Chen
Loss W/L No Decision
3.1 IP 4.0
0 Strikeouts 3
6 Hits 4
13.50 ERA 4.50
Hitting
Atlanta   Miami
Ender Inciarte Player Dee Gordon
3 Hits 2
0 RBI 0
0 HR 0
3 TB 2
.600 Avg .667
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Atlanta 8 1 12 .242 14 11 3 2 1 0
Miami 9 1 15 .290 19 2 5 6 5 0