The torrid streak the Braves are on continues unabated. The Marlins were actually in this game for large swaths of it, which is more than I can say for them the previous two days. However, Atlanta took a fifth-inning lead and then added some insurance in the eighth to pull out to a 6-3 win.

The Braves actually failed to score in the first inning in this one (perish the thought) and it allowed Miami a chance to gain the early advantage. With the visitors already holding a 1-0 lead, Luis Arraez (who had easily his best game of the series and raised his batting average back up to .389 with a 2-for-4 day) ripped a double down the right-field line off Braves starter Spencer Strider and doubled the Fish advantage.

Orlando Arcia cut the deficit back in half in the bottom of the inning. He launched his seventh homer over the center-field wall to make the score 2-1.

The Braves tied the game in the fifth when Michael Harris stole second, advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher and scored on a wild pitch. They weren’t done, though, as Ronald Acuna walked and Ozzie Albies followed with a high fly ball to right that just barely made it over the brick wall for a two-run homer and a 4-2 lead.

Arraez struck again in the top of the seventh off reliever A.J. Minter, singling home another run to make it 4-3. However, Minter followed by striking out 2021 World Series MVP Jorge Soler with the potential tying run on second base, ending the threat. Still, that made the game tight with a bullpen that’s had a history of shakiness (admittedly, they haven’t even had an opportunity to blow any games this week).

If that fact worried you a bit, though, the Braves offense came right back to the rescue. Travis d’Arnaud launched a game-clinching two-run homer into the right-field seats to make it 6-3 and pretty much put it away.

Spencer Strider continued to pitch well after his brief lull of a few weeks ago. He couldn’t get out of the sixth after an Albies error extended that inning with two outs, but no matter. He still finished with two earned runs allowed on six hits over 6.2 innings. He walked only one and struck out his customary nine.

Looking ahead to the coming week, this team seems virtually unbeatable right now. They finish this homestand 6-0 against two teams that would be in the playoffs if the season were to end right now. They also close the week nine games up in the race for the NL East. They’ll try to extend that stretch into the All-Star break, as they head to Cleveland and Tampa Bay to close out the first half of the season. The Tampa Bay series next weekend will be of particular interest, as it’s a battle between the two teams currently fighting for the best record in baseball.

All-Star news

After the game, the remainder of the All-Star teams were officially announced. Matt Olson, Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies all made it, as well as pitchers Strider and Bryce Elder. They’ll join Acuna, Arcia and Sean Murphy, who had already been voted in as starters. Altogether, the Braves send an MLB-high and franchise-record eight players to Seattle in a week’s time.