ATLANTA (AP) —
Cameron Maybin went up to the plate ready to swing, and the Florida Marlins never let up.
They’re not giving up on the playoffs, either.
Maybin homered on the first pitch of the game, Logan Morrison followed with his first career homer and Chris Volstad pitched eight strong innings to lead the Marlins past the slumping Atlanta Braves 7-1 on Friday night.
Florida has won eight of 10 to close within 7 1/2 games of the NL East-leading Braves, though the wild card is probably more realistic.
“We’ve got 35 games left,” Maybin said. “I know everybody in here is thinking about it. We’re playing some good baseball. We’re not counting ourselves out until the season is over.”
The Braves have lost four in a row, their worst slump since a nine-game skid in April. The last two defeats have been especially ugly — Atlanta squandered a 10-1 lead at Colorado and fell 12-10, then got blown out after Florida started a game with back-to-back homers for the first time in franchise history.
Maybin ended Tommy Hanson’s streak of 47 2-3 innings without giving up a homer.
“I’m always ready to hit, especially against a guy like Tommy,” Maybin said. “He’s got a good fastball. You’ve got to be ready. You don’t want him to get ahead in the count.”
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