Palms Storm Back, Break Braves with Late Surge

By Vin Castillo

MIAMI — The first night back for Jarod Lantz looked like it might be a rude reintroduction.

Instead, it turned into the launching point for one of the Palms’ most satisfying wins of the season.

Down by two after five innings, Miami erupted for six runs across the sixth, seventh, and eighth, flipping the game on its head and pulling away for a 10–6 comeback win over the Atlanta Braves Saturday night at Coca-Cola Palms Park.

The Palms finished with 15 hits, eight of them for extra bases, and got a dominant closing performance from the bullpen to snap Atlanta’s momentum.

“It felt like one swing at a time,” manager Scott Hatteberg said. “Nobody tried to do too much. We just kept coming.”

Early Trouble, Steady Response

Atlanta jumped ahead quickly, tagging Lantz for four runs in the second inning. A three-run homer by Matt Joyce and an RBI hit from Tyler Flowers gave the Braves a 4–0 cushion before Miami had settled in.

But the Palms answered immediately.
In the bottom of the second, Chris Korb crushed his 10th home run of the season, and Miami strung together four straight hits to tie the game at four.

Atlanta nudged back in front with two runs in the fifth, but Lantz limited further damage, finishing five innings in his first start off the injured list.

“Not perfect,” Lantz said, “but I kept us close. That’s the job.”

Sixth-Inning Flip

The game turned in the sixth.

Miami poured across three runs against Mike Soroka when Frank Sohn launched a three-run homer to left-center, his fourth of the year, sending the crowd into full voice and chasing the Atlanta starter and finally seizing the lead.

From there, the Palms never let go.

Brock Holt delivered the knockout blow with a three-hit night, driving in three runs from the right-field spot. Moments later

Ian Pfaff was relentless in the middle of the order, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored, setting the table all night.

“That’s a tough guy to pitch to right now,” Holt said. “Every time he’s on base, something good happens.”

Bullpen Slams the Door

Once Miami took the lead, the game belonged to the bullpen.

Brian Matusz earned the win with a clean sixth, and Jeremy Jeffress was untouchable, retiring all nine batters he faced over three scoreless innings to lock down his third save.

Atlanta didn’t record a hit after the fifth inning.

“That’s what you want,” Hatteberg said. “Shorten the game and finish it.”

By the Numbers

  • Frank Sohn: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI

  • Brock Holt: 3-for-4, 3 RBI

  • Chris Korb: HR, RBI

  • Palms bullpen: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R

The win moves Miami to 35–31, and gives the Palms a chance to take the series Sunday with momentum firmly back in teal and purple.

Sometimes a comeback doesn’t feel dramatic until you look up and realize the other team has stopped breathing. Saturday night, the Palms made sure of that.

  Miami Palms 10, Atlanta Braves 6

 Saturday, June 6, 2020


 Atlanta Braves (2-4)                                     Miami Palms (35-31)                                     

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      

 Inciarte cf     5  0  0  0  0  3  3  0  0  0   .333      Munoz ss        4  1  1  0  1  0  0  4  0  0   .314

 Albies 2b       4  1  0  0  1  1  1  3  0  1   .308      Koch 2b         5  0  1  1  0  1  1  1  0  1   .285

 Freeman 1b      4  0  0  0  0  2  7  1  0  0   .261      Grant lf        5  1  2  1  0  0  3  0  0  2   .295

 Acuna, Jr. rf   4  2  2  1  0  0  2  0  0  0   .240      Korb 3b         5  1  1  1  0  1  1  1  0  0   .267

 Ozuna lf        4  1  3  1  0  0  1  0  0  0   .346      Garcia 1b       5  0  0  0  0  1  8  1  0  1   .256

 Camargo 3b      4  0  1  0  0  0  2  1  0  0   .400      Pfaff dh        4  3  4  0  0  0  0  0  0  0   .391

 Hechavarria ss  3  0  0  0  1  1  1  3  0  2   .174      Castillo c      3  1  1  0  1  1  7  0  0  1   .230

 Flowers c       4  1  2  1  0  0  6  0  0  0   .273      Holt rf         4  2  3  3  0  0  2  0  0  0   .261

 Joyce dh        4  1  1  3  0  0  0  0  0  2   .250      Sohn cf         4  1  2  4  0  0  4  0  0  2   .278

 

                 -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            

 Totals          36 6  9  6  2  7  24 9  0  5             Totals          39 10 15 10 2  4  27 9  0  7  

 

 

                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9      R  H  E

                        -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -      -  -  -

 Atlanta Braves         0  4  0  0  2  0  0  0  0      6  9  0  

 Miami Palms            0  4  0  0  0  3  2  1         10 15 0  

 

 LOB- Atlanta Braves 5, Miami Palms 7; 2B- Camargo(2), Ozuna 2(2), Koch(9), Holt(7),

 Grant(14), Pfaff(4); 3B- Acuna, Jr.(1); HR- Joyce(1), Sohn(4), Korb(10); RBI- Acuna,

 Jr.(3), Ozuna(5), Flowers(2), Joyce 3(3), Koch(22), Holt 3(18), Sohn 4(20), Korb(35),

 Grant(32); RLSP- Hechavarria 2, Joyce, Garcia, Sohn 2, Grant 2;  

 

 Atlanta Braves            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Soroka(L 0-2)             6.0  11 7  7  0  2    8.18  

 Melancon                  1.0  3  2  2  1  2   13.50 

 Smith                     1.0  1  1  1  1  0    3.00  

 

 Miami Palms               IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Lantz                     5.0  8  6  6  2  5    6.00  

 Matusz(W 2-0)             1.0  1  0  0  0  1    4.33  

 Jeffress(S,3)             3.0  0  0  0  0  1    3.41  

 

 Pitches-strikes- Soroka 77-50, Melancon 19-12, Smith 16-8, Lantz 75-45, Matusz 11-8,

 Jeffress 23-16; Batters faced- Soroka 29, Melancon 7, Smith 5, Lantz 25, Matusz 4,

 Jeffress 9; 


 Temp - 88, Sky - Cloudy, Wind - SSE 13MPH 

 

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