Markakis extends hitting streak to 15 games in 7-2 win

But tonight provides a respite.

As for Fernandez himself, after debuting on July 2 he fell right back into the groove, which is mighty impressive given his time off. In eight starts, he posted a 2.30 ERA with a 53/10 K/BB ratio across 43 innings. That is a span of 14 starts, but luckily he has been dominating against the Marlins this year in three starts. In his previous start, he threw 112. So much for taking a while to get his groove back, huh?

ATLANTA (AP) – Marlins ace Jose Fernandez headed back to Miami on Saturday to be examined by a doctor after feeling stiffness in his right shoulder following Friday night’s outing against the Atlanta Braves. “My slider and fastball weren’t there”. Electric stuff is a term used perhaps a bit too often, but in his case it absolutely applies. Fernandez is 3-1 with an 0.93 ERA against the Braves. It’s no secret at this point that Miller hasn’t won a game since May 17th against these Miami Marlins, where he came one out away from a no-hitter. Perez and second baseman Jace Peterson had two hits apiece, and rookie third baseman Adonis Garcia added a two-run homer for Atlanta. Yikes.

“Tough game to lose”, Jennings said.

The only other courageous with a hit against him is Chris Johnson (1-for-10).

It was the fifth straight loss for the Marlins, who have dropped nine of 11 games to the Braves. Iglesias spoke to reporters Saturday for the first time since the dustup. He is 1-4 since the break after going 7-5 in the first half. Swisher, filling in at first base for the injured Freddie Freeman, ripped a two-run double in the seventh inning to give Atlanta a 5-2 lead, then stood at second and made the Tomahawk Chop motion toward the Atlanta dugout. That’s not good. Fernandez looked pretty sharp on Friday night against the Braves, racking up six strikeouts over five innings, but he did leave with a pitch count of just 76.

Braves shortstop Andrelton Simmons, who missed five games with a sprained thumb, was 1 for 2 with two RBIs and a stolen base in his return. 355 over his last nine games, hitting in the No. 6 slot….

The Marlins have had victory within reach until the late innings in all three games.

The Marlins scored three runs in the top of the eighth to tie it 8-all.

The downward trend continues as the Marlins fall to the Braves 7-2. Pierzynski, who also extended his hit streak to 13 games. The rally started when Castro hit a line drive that struck the knee of Marlins starter Jose Urena and caromed away for a single. 515 slugging percentage. Dietrich hit a solo homer, his seventh, to right field and Prado hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Yelich. 488 slugging percentage.

Ever walked the streets of Bakersfield?