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Braves Sweep Marlins, Still Winless At Home

April 17, 2016 / 6:31 PM EDT / CBS Miami

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MIAMI (The Sports Xchange) -- With a .130 batting average, Mallex Smith makes for an unlikely hero.

But the rookie outfielder, a native of Tallahassee, Fla., came back to his home state and delivered a game-winning RBI single in the top of the 10th inning on Sunday as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins 6-5 at Marlins Park.

Smith, a 22-year-old who made his big-league debut on Monday, got his one-out hit off reliever Edwin Jackson (0-1), scoring Drew Stubbs from third base.

"I didn't want to miss the fastball," said Smith, who swung at the first pitch from Jackson. "I've been missing a lot of fastballs lately.

"Anytime you can help the team win, it's always a great feeling."

Indeed, the Braves (3-9) swept the series after arriving in Miami on Friday as a winless team. Miami (3-7) is off to a 0-5 start at home.

Jhoulys Chacin, who had a perfect game until Martin Prado singled with one out in the fourth inning, had an RBI single but had to settle for a no-decision. He took a shutout into the sixth inning, when Miami struck for three runs.

Atlanta's bullpen allowed just two runs in 4 2/3 innings. In 12 innings this weekend, Braves relievers combined to allow just one run.

Braves reliever Jason Grilli nearly earned his second save in less than 24 hours. But he allowed a two-out, two-strike RBI single to 42-year-old backup outfielder Ichiro Suzuki in the bottom of the ninth.

Grilli (1-0) was credited with the win. Matt Wisler, who had been scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitched a 1-2-3 10th to earn the first save of his career.

Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, who has averaged 32 homers for the past five years, went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts. He has struck out six times in the past two games and is batting .211 this season with two homers.

Miami starter Jarred Cosart allowed four runs in the first inning but escaped with a no-decision. He lasted 5 2/3 innings, allowing six walks, four hits and five runs (four earned).

Atlanta took advantage of Cosart early. For the third day in a row -- ever since being moved up to leadoff -- Braves right fielder Nick Markakis started the game with a hit or walk.

This time, it was an opposite-field double to left, and Markakis scored on a one-out single to right by Freddie Freeman. Stanton had a play at the plate, but his throw sailed way over the head of catcher Jeff Mathis.

The Braves went on to load the bases with two outs before Jayce Peterson hit a three-run double that one-hopped the wall in center field to put Atlanta up 4-0.

"For whatever reason, with bases loaded, I get locked in even more," Peterson said. "Maybe from now on I will just act like they are loaded all the time."

It took Cosart 34 pitches to retire the side in the first, and he had another frustrating moment in the sixth inning, when he allowed Chacin to stroke a two-out RBI single on a 2-2 pitch. It was Chacin's first RBI since 2013.

"It was not mechanical, it was mental," Cosart said of his issues. "I was a little off in my warm-ups, and I kind of took that out to the mound. I started thinking about mechanical stuff, and my delivery was too slow. I figured it out too late."

Miami got back in the game in the bottom of the sixth, scoring on a single by Dee Gordon, a hit-by-pitch RBI for Stanton and a sacrifice fly by Justin Bour.

Stanton, who has a .317 batting average and five grand slams when batting with the bases loaded, had an 0-2 count when he was grazed by an inside pitch from Braves reliever Alexi Ogando.

Gordon added a run-scoring groundout in the seventh, cutting Atlanta's lead to 5-4.

Miami then battled to tie the score in the ninth, but Marlins manager Don Mattingly was disappointed with how his team started the game.

"We couldn't stop the bleeding in the first inning," he said. "And Chacin got a big hit (in the sixth)."

NOTES: Braves 2B Gordon Beckham, who injured his hamstring running the bases on Saturday, was not in the lineup Sunday and is out for at least a few days. ... 2B Kelly Johnson took Beckham's spot in the lineup. ... Last season, Braves hitters were the toughest in the National League to strike out. This year, Braves hitters rank 10th out of 15 teams. ... Marlins CF Marcell Ozuna was dropped from the No. 2 hole in the batting order and batted sixth. A free swinger with power, Ozuna is better suited to hitting lower in the order. ... Marlins backup C Jeff Mathis made his second start of the season and got his first hit, a sixth-inning double. ... Up next, the Braves open up an eight-game homestand on Tuesday against the Dodgers. ... Miami plays host to NL East leader Washington in a four-game series that begins Monday.