MIAMI — It took all of six pitches before the Atlanta Braves made their move against Miami Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers on Friday.
Ronald Acuna Jr.’s line drive scorched off his bat into left field for a leadoff double that was just a sign of things to come.
The Braves teed off against Rogers, hitting three home runs and drilling the lefty for five runs on eight hits and two walks over just four innings as Miami ultimately fell, 5-3, at loanDepot park to begin a three-game series against the defending World Series champions.
The Marlins (17-21) cut their deficit to two runs in the sixth on a Jorge Soler two-run home run and had the game-tying runs in scoring position with one out after Brian Anderson hit a single and Jesus Sanchez hit a double.
But Bryan De La Cruz lined out to shortstop Dansby Swanson and Jacob Stallings’ fly ball to left-center field died on the warning track, feet away from being a go-ahead three-run home run.
Their subsequent chances fell short as well. Miami had runners on second and third with two outs in the seventh after a Jesus Aguilar infield single and Sanchez double before Avisail Garcia hit an inning-ending flyout.
They had a runner in scoring position with one out in the eighth when Garrett Cooper recorded a pinch-hit double. He moved to third on a De La Cruz groundout but was stranded after Stallings struck out swinging.
The late offense wasn’t enough to offset Rogers’ sluggish outing. The Marlins were down three runs after the first inning after Ozzie Albies’ RBI single drove in Acuna and Marcell Ozuna lifted a slider below the strike zone a projected 384 feet to left field for a two-run home run.
Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud added solo home runs in the second and third innings to pad their lead.
Overall, nine of the 15 balls the Braves (18-21) put in play against Rogers had an exit velocity of at least 103.3 mph.
This is now a new phenomenon for Rogers, though. Friday marks the third time this season through eight starts that Rogers has given up at least five earned runs while pitching fewer than five innings. His ERA for the season is 5.20.
Also, Rogers has a 6.15 ERA (18 earned runs over 26 1/3 innings) in six starts against the Braves, including Friday. The Marlins have lost all six of those outings.
Miami broke up the shutout in the second when De La Cruz’s single scored Anderson, who led off the frame with a double. Anderson has safely reached base in 23 consecutive games.
The Marlins’ bullpen threw five scoreless innings — three by Louis Head and one apiece from Dylan Floro and Steven Okert — to give the offense a chance to make its comeback that fell two runs short.
Soler power
While his home run wasn’t enough to complete the Marlins’ comeback attempt on Friday, it was the latest sign of Soler producing the way Miami hoped he would when they signed him to a three-year, $36 million deal this offseason.
Soler now has hits in nine of his past 10 games, dating back to May 7 against the San Diego Padres when he had two hits and a grand slam. In that stretch, he is hitting .293 (12 for 41) with three multi-hit outings, five home runs, 12 RBIs and seven runs scored.
Soler sat in the Marlins’ previous two games on Tuesday and Wednesday against the Washington Nationals while dealing with back stiffness before playing as Miami’s designated hitter on Friday.
