ATLANTA — Nathan Eovaldi combined with Steve Cishek on an eight-hit shutout, Jeff Mathis homered and drove in three runs, and the Miami Marlins beat the Atlanta Braves 7-0 on Sunday to end their six-game losing streak.
Ed Lucas had a two-run single and Mathis added a two-run double in the Marlins’ five-run third inning.
Eovaldi (3-5) halted Miami’s skid and his personal five-game slide by earning his first win since July 12 against Washington. He gave up seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts in eight innings, his longest start of the season.
After throwing 102 pitches through eight innings, Eovaldi was not given the chance for his first career complete game. Cishek got the final three outs.
Eovaldi earned his first win in six career starts against Atlanta. He began the day with a 2.79 ERA against Atlanta. He threw seven shutout innings, allowing only one hit, but received a no-decision in the Marlins’ 1-0 win at Atlanta on Aug. 10.
Braves rookie Alex Wood (3-3) yielded seven runs in 2 1/3 innings as Atlanta’s six-game winning streak ended.
It was a rare poor outing for Wood, a left-hander who was 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in five August starts. His overall ERA climbed from 2.27 to 3.15.
Veteran pitcher Freddy Garcia, called up from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game, replaced Wood in the third. The 36-year-old Garcia threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and one walk.
The Braves acquired Garcia from the Orioles on Aug. 23 for cash.
“First-place team, you’ve got to be excited,” Garcia said before the game.
Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said Garcia could also be used as a spot starter in the final month of the regular season.
Garcia is 155-106 in 16 major league seasons with Seattle, the White Sox, Philadelphia, Detroit, the Yankees and Baltimore. He was 3-5 with a 5.77 ERA in 11 games, including 10 starts, with Baltimore this season.
Placido Polanco’s single drove in Christian Yelich in the first, and Mathis homered with two outs in the second for a 2-0 lead.
The Marlins knocked Wood out of the game with five hits in the third. Donovan Solano had a run-scoring single in the inning.
Miami’s Jake Marisnick threw out Paul Janish at the plate in the seventh as Janish attempted to score from second on Jose Constanza’s single to center.
Notes
Braves 3B Chris Johnson was held out of the lineup with what Gonzalez said was “a little leg issue.” Johnson had a pinch-hit single in the ninth. ... Marlins OF Chris Coghlan came off the 15-day DL and entered the game in right field in the seventh. Coghlan was placed on the DL on June 9 because of right calf nerve irritation, but a back strain was the more serious injury. ... The Braves’ nine-game homestand continues when LHP Paul Maholm faces Mets RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka today.