Teheran, Braves edge Marlins
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Julio Teheran tossed six solid innings, Nick Markakis drove in both of Atlanta's runs and the Braves edged the Miami Marlins 2-1 on Opening Day Monday.
Teheran (1-0), the Braves' Opening Day starter for a second year in a row, allowed a run on eight hits for Atlanta, which finished 79-83 last season after winning the NL East in 2013.
"I felt really good," Teheran said. "I'm happy that we started our season with a win."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Following an offseason of roster upheaval, the Braves made another blockbuster trade Sunday. They shipped All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel and outfielder Melvin Upton, Jr. to the San Diego Padres in a six-player swap.
That concluded a busy offseason by new president of baseball operations John Hart, who restocked the farm system by trading outfielder Justin Upton (San Diego), and brother of Melvin, and power bat Evan Gattis (Houston) in separate deals that netted Atlanta seven prospects. Outfielder Jason Heyward was also dealt, going to St. Louis in a deal that brought back a young arm in Shelby Miller and another prospect.
Atlanta's new closer Jason Grilli struck out two in a perfect ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Henderson Alvarez (0-1) got the Opening Day start for Miami, which is still without its ace Jose Fernandez, who continues to recover from Tommy John surgery. He surrendered two runs on six hits over seven frames for the Marlins, who failed to finish above .500 for a fifth season in a row last year.
The Marlins, though, are hoping that a busy offseason can buck that trend. Brought in to help was speedy infielder Dee Gordon, versatile veteran Martin Prado, power bat Michael Morse and starter Mat Latos. Miami also signed outfielder Ichiro Suzuki, who comes in into the season 156 hits shy of 3,000 for his MLB career.
The biggest move of the offseason for the Marlins was the signing of outfielder Giancarlo Stanton to a 13-year, $325 million contract. The MVP candidate hit 37 homers and drove in 105 runs last season, but his campaign ended on Sept. 11 after he was hit in the face by a fastball thrown by Milwaukee's Mike Fiers.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stanton, who was wearing a specialized batting helmet, went 1-for-4.
"We had some chances and had some opportuities and just didn't get that one big hit," Marlins coach Mike Redmond said.
Atlanta broke a 1-1 tie with a run in the sixth. Eric Young Jr. led off with a double, moved to third on a Jace Peterson bunt and came home on a Markakis grounder to second.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miami threatened by loading the bases with no outs in the seventh, but Jarrod Saltalamacchia bounced into a 5-2-3 double play and Adeiny Hechavarria popped out into foul territory on the first base side to end the frame.
Earlier, Markakis' RBI single in the first opened the scoring. Miami tied it in the third on Gordon's run-scoring base hit.
Game Notes
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Teheran became the sixth pitcher in Braves history to make consecutive Opening Day starts. He joined Pat Jarvis, Phil Niekro, Rich Mahler, Greg Maddux and Derek Lowe ... Alvarez came in 1-2 with a 5.66 ERA in six career starts against Atlanta ... The Braves were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position, while Miami finished 2-for-4 with RISP.