The Braves were determined not to let Jose Fernandez beat them twice in two days. They pounced on the hard-throwing right-hander in the first inning on Freddie Freeman’s two-run homer, but the big damage came in a seven-run sixth inning that powered the way to a 9-1 win over the Marlins on Saturday at Turner Field.

Jace Peterson put an exclamation point on the inning with a three-run homer on Fernandez’s 100th and final pitch. The night before, it was Fernandez who was celebrating at second base with a flexed biceps pose after collecting the go-ahead two-run double in the 12th inning of Miami’s 7-5 win.
“I don’t think last night has to do with anything with the results today,” Fernandez said. “I felt I was throwing the ball well. They played better. That simple.”
Right-hander Lucas Harrell, who made his first big league start since April 15, 2014, kept Miami in check with one run over six innings with five strikeouts. Ichiro Suzuki drove in Miami’s lone run with a triple in the third inning, which at the time trimmed the Braves’ lead to 2-1.
“I thought he carved us up pretty good, honestly,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “We didn’t do much with them. He cut the ball to both sides of the plate, and he used a breaking ball and changeup and does a number of things. We just didn’t do a whole lot with him.”
Atlanta has now taken two of three in the series and eight of 11 on the season. These teams will conclude their four-game set on Sunday at Fort Bragg, in the first game in any professional sport to be played on an active U.S. military base.
“We came out, faced a good pitcher, battled and were able to get to him late,” Peterson said. “It’s a great win, a great way to kind of start the month, and we’re looking forward to going to Fort Bragg tomorrow and trying to do it again.”
Peterson quickly extended his hitting streak to a career-best 13 games with his leadoff double in the first inning and would go on to score the first run on Freeman’s two-run homer. In the sixth, the second baseman put the finishing touches on Atlanta’s seven-run inning when he sent a three-run shot over the right-field wall. During his hitting streak, Peterson is batting .358 (19-for-53) with all three of his home runs.
“It’s something,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said about Peterson’s success at the plate. “Ever since he’s come back [from Triple-A Gwinnett], he’s kind of been our catalyst and just getting things going. I’m happy as I can be for him.”
A day after delivering his first pinch-hit, Fernandez gave up seven runs, which is the most he has ever allowed in an inning. Four were earned because Emilio Bonifacio reached on first baseman Chris Johnson’s error. Fernandez was lifted after Peterson’s three-run homer. Fernandez’s previous high for runs in an inning was six during his rookie season. On May 27, 2013, the right-hander gave up six runs in the second at Tampa Bay.
“Rough day, man,” Fernandez said. “It’s so funny because baseball is so fantastic. It gets you back on your toes and get ready for your next start. It’s that simple.”
With the Braves’ starting rotation depleted due to injuries, regression and the recent Bud Norris trade, Harrell excelled in his spot start for Atlanta. The right-hander, who was called up from Triple-A Gwinnett on Saturday, struck out four of the first six batters he faced before giving up Ichiro’s RBI triple in the third. But Harrell surrendered only one more hit across his next three innings en route to his first Major League win since defeating the Athletics on Aug. 14, 2013, while pitching for the Astros.
“Today was huge. Lucas was really good,” Snitker said. “I had heard sinkers, sliders, keeps the ball on the ground, and he went out on the attack. [It was a] big, big start. We needed that for the bullpen, especially after last night.”
The quest for 3,000 MLB hits isn’t the only milestone Ichiro has been pursuing. Another storyline being followed by the Japanese media that covers the 42-year-old is the triples mark. With his RBI triple in the third inning, Ichiro now has 92 three-base hits in the Majors and 115 total, when you combine his Japanese numbers. The Japanese record for triples is 115, held by Yutaka Fukumoto. In terms of 3,000 hits, Ichiro is at 2,989, just 11 away.
Derek Dietrich matched a single-season record before the All-Star break when he was plunked by a pitch in the ninth inning by Dario Alvarez. It marked the 17th time he has been hit by a pitch this year. That’s the most ever by a Marlins player in an entire season. Carlos Delgado was also hit 17 times in 2005.
The Marlins and the Braves will be making history on Sunday when they play their series finale at 7:05 p.m. CT at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. It will mark the first regular-season game for any professional sport at an active U.S. military base. Left-hander Adam Conley (4-5, 3.90 ERA) gets the start for Miami.  Atlanta will counter with Matt Wisler, who has recorded three straight quality starts after surrendering 13 total runs in his first two June starts. The right-hander’s lone appearance against the Marlins this year came on April 17, when he pitched one inning of scoreless relief and earned the save in the Braves’ 6-5, 10-inning win.  Thunder Radio will bring you the action as we join the Atlanta Braves Radio Network broadcast in progress at 8 PM.

The Oklahoma City Dodgers got another strong performance from a starting pitcher in a 5-1 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 8,754 fans Saturday night at First Tennessee Park.

Right-hander Trevor Oaks allowed one run over eight innings and earned his first Triple-A win. Dodger starters have allowed only two earned runs in 19 innings over the first three games of the series.

Oaks struck out five and didn’t allow a run until Bruce Maxwell hit a solo homer in the fifth inning.

By that time, Oklahoma City built a 4-0 lead thanks to Micah Johnson’s RBI single in the second and a three-run fourth.

Sounds starter Jesse Hahn issued a one-out walk to Cole Figeroa in the fourth, then allowed a two-run homer to Zach Walters to give the Dodgers a 3-0 lead.

Oaks had retired eight of the last nine batters he faced when Maxwell launched the first pitch he saw from him into The Band Box in deep right field to get Nashville on the board. It was the fourth home run of the season for Maxwell.

After the homer, Oaks went right back into a groove and set down the next nine batters he faced in order.

Jaycob Brugman lined a triple to the right-center gap with one out in the eighth but he was left stranded. Arismendy Alcantara hit a soft comebacker to Oaks for the second out, and Max Muncy struck out to end the inning.

Oaks started the ninth and was greeted by Renato Nunez who lined a single back up the middle. The right-hander was pulled after eight-plus innings in favor of reliever Matt West who shut down any hope of a late rally.

Hahn allowed four runs (three earned) in four innings of work and was hit with the loss. Brugman was the lone Sounds player to post a multi-hit game.

The series finale is set for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Zach Neal (6-1, 2.83) starts for Nashville against right-hander Ross Stripling (0-1, 3.38) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

The Coffee County Middle School softball team was presented a pair of checks totaling $8000 on Saturday at Al White Ford/Lincoln. The checks were their reward for their participation in the Lincoln “Driven to Give” event earlier this spring. The Lady Raiders lined up 400 test drives of new Lincoln vehicles for the event coordinated through Al White Ford/Lincoln and funded by the Lincoln Motor Company.
CCMS Softball coach Lana Creek was effusive in her praise for the folks that made the event such a huge success. “Big thanks to Al White Motors for giving us this opportunity” said Creek. “I also want to thank the parents for all their hard work that day in leading up to the event.” “We plan to use that money towards the expansion of the facilities at the CCMS softball field and we also hope to buy new uniforms and hitting equipment” added Creek when asked about the plans for the money.
Al White’s “Driven to Give” event coordinator Baxter White said that the checks were part of the $38,000 given to local teams and parent organizations during the spring semester through the Al White dealership. Al White Ford/Lincoln, at 2002 Hillsboro Boulevard, also helped local organizations raise $38,000 in the fall semester too through the community outreach programs sponsored by Ford and Lincoln. According to White, future local test drive fund raising events have been scheduled into 2017.

Over 30 young ladies from throughout middle Tennessee joined Motlow State head softball coach Janice Morey, assistant Randy Morey, and a number of members of the Lady Bucks’ team recently for the Softball Skills Development Camp on the Motlow Moore County campus. Campers received valuable coaching in hitting, defense, base running, bunting and more during the three day camp.