MIAMI – As Marcell Ozuna’s ball sailed over the wall in left-center field, it washed away the potential disappointment of the disaster that had unfolded in the previous hour. The Braves were on the brink here, but Ozuna – who is scorching hot and loves hitting in Miami – saved them in dramatic fashion.

With Atlanta down to its final strike, Ozuna launched a three-run home run to give the Braves a 9-7 victory over the Marlins on Sunday at loanDepot Park. Atlanta is 9-5.

Had Ozuna failed to come through, the Braves would have lost a series to the Marlins, who entered the weekend with two wins. And not only that, but in the finale, Atlanta led by four runs before falling behind by two. It is only April, but this loss would have been frustrating.

Instead, Ozuna’s heroics changed the narrative. In one pitch, he turned the weekend from sour to good.

Five observations:

1. As the Marlins gathered on the mound with closer Tanner Scott, Ozuna stood in the batter’s box awaiting his at-bat. With the tying run at second base, he knew he only needed to make contact. Despite his power, he understood even a bloop would score Ronald Acuña Jr.

And in that moment, Ozuna also thought about something else: On Saturday, Scott had gotten him to ground into a double play in the ninth inning of a loss.

“Today, I said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna get payback,’” Ozuna said.

He told this to Matt Olson, who walked to give Ozuna a chance. And Ozuna also remembered the sequence Scott threw him on Saturday: Slider in the middle, slider inside and slider down.

On Sunday, Scott started Ozuna with a slider away – not far from Saturday’s first pitch. He followed with a slider down and inside. Then he hurled a slider down.

...continued

©2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.