SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — Bryce Elder pitched seven innings of one-hit ball and Drake Baldwin drove in two runs as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Miami Marlins 4-1 on Wednesday night at Truist Park.

The Braves took control with a three-run second inning and never trailed, handing the Marlins their second straight loss in the four-game series. Atlanta improved to 69-45, while Miami fell to 58-57.

Elder, the winning pitcher, improved to 8-6. He allowed one earned run on one hit and struck out three over seven innings. The right-hander retired 12 consecutive batters at one point and faced only one batter over the minimum through six innings. He ran into his only true trouble in the fifth, when Miami scratched across its lone run.

Eury Pérez took the loss for Miami, falling to 5-9. The young right-hander lasted five innings, surrendering four earned runs on seven hits while striking out nine. Three of the four runs came home in that decisive second inning.

The game’s pivotal moment arrived in the bottom of the second. With one out, Ozzie Albies walked and Mauricio Dubón singled, putting runners at the corners. Lane Thomas popped out, but Austin Riley followed with a ground-rule double down the left-field line, scoring Albies and sending Dubón to third. After Sean Murphy struck out, Baldwin grounded a single through the middle and into center field, plating Dubón and Riley to make it 3-0.

That two-run single by Baldwin proved to be the decisive swing. Elder made it stand with efficient, economical pitching, attacking the strike zone and forcing weak contact. He allowed only a fifth-inning double to Jakob Marsee, and Miami’s only run came on a groundout by Joe Mack that scored Owen Caissie from third.

Atlanta added an insurance run in the third. Michael Harris II doubled to left-center, and Dubón followed with a run-scoring single to right field, extending the lead to 4-0. Dubón finished 2-for-4 with one RBI, while Harris went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Baldwin paced the offense with two hits and two RBIs, finishing 2-for-4 with a strikeout. Ronald Acuña Jr. singled in the first and struck out twice. Matt Olson went hitless in four at-bats with two strikeouts. Sean Murphy singled in the sixth, and Austin Riley added a single in the eighth.

Didier Fuentes earned the save, his second of the season. The Atlanta reliever worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out two. He entered in the eighth with one out and induced a flyout from Mike Yastrzemski and a groundout from Otto Lopez before retiring the side in the ninth. Fuentes struck out Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernández and Owen Caissie in the final frame, with Hernández’s sharp flyout to center preceded by two strikeouts to end the game.

Miami’s bullpen held Atlanta scoreless over the final four innings. Calvin Faucher pitched one inning, allowing two hits and striking out three. Josh Ekness allowed one hit in a scoreless inning. Cade Gibson pitched a clean inning with no hits and no walks.

The Marlins managed just three hits total. Jakob Marsee doubled in the fifth and scored the team’s only run. Javier Sanoja singled in the eighth, and Xavier Edwards singled in the eighth. Miami’s only other baserunner came in the third when Marsee walked, but he was erased on a forceout. Owen Caissie walked in the fifth and scored on Joe Mack’s groundout. Heriberto Hernández reached on a throwing error by Austin Riley in the seventh, but he was stranded at second.

Miami’s pitching staff combined for 10 strikes, 38 balls and 10 balls in play, while Atlanta’s pitchers recorded 22 strikes, 42 balls and 22 balls in play. The game time was 2:22, and the announced attendance was 25,136.

Atlanta’s previous game against Miami on Tuesday also ended with a 4-2 Braves victory, giving the home team a two-game lead in this series with two games remaining. Miami had won four of five entering the series, but the Braves’ rotation and bullpen have shut down the Marlins’ offense. The Marlins scored two runs or fewer in six of their previous nine games, and Wednesday marked their fourth loss in five games.

Elder’s outing was his second consecutive strong start. He earned a win against the Washington Nationals on July 31, allowing one earned run in six innings, and followed that with Wednesday’s dominant performance in which he needed just 81 pitches to complete seven innings, facing 24 batters.

Pérez struggled with command but still managed a career-high-tying nine strikeouts. He walked two batters, including Albies in the decisive second inning, and gave up hard contact on Riley’s double and Baldwin’s single. Pérez also issued a walk to Lane Thomas in the third, but escaped further damage by striking out Austin Riley on a foul tip to end the inning.

The Braves strung together two-out hits in the second and third innings, a pattern that has defined their recent home success. Atlanta has won six of its last eight games and holds a comfortable lead in the National League East. Miami remains above .500 but has slipped to 58-57, and the Marlins face an uphill climb in the wild-card race.

Atlanta’s defense also delivered a key play in the eighth inning. After Austin Riley singled with one out, Sean Murphy flied out to left field and Heriberto Hernández threw to second to double up Riley, ending the inning. The relay kept the score at 4-1 and preserved Fuentes’ lead.

Miami’s best scoring opportunity beyond the fifth inning came in the eighth, when Sanoja singled and Edwards followed with a single to put two runners on with one out. But Kyle Stowers flied out to center and Otto Lopez grounded out to third, ending the threat.

The Marlins stranded runners at second base in the seventh and eighth innings, and they left six runners on base overall. Atlanta left seven on base, but the Braves’ early burst was more than enough.

The game marked the second of four consecutive meetings between the teams at Truist Park. Atlanta will host Miami again Thursday before the Braves travel to New York to face the Yankees and the Marlins return home to face the Los Angeles Angels.

Baldwin’s two-run single in the second inning proved to be the most important hit of the night. It extended Atlanta’s lead from one run to three, and Elder made that cushion stand. The Braves’ bullpen, led by Fuentes, preserved the victory without allowing a hit over the final 1 1/3 innings.

Miami manager has used a bullpen-heavy approach in recent games, but Pérez’s early exit forced the Marlins to rely on three relievers for the final four innings. The trio combined to allow three hits and no runs while striking out three.

Atlanta’s offense has now scored at least four runs in five consecutive games. The Braves have won three straight and are 69-45, matching their best record at this point in a season since 2023. Miami has lost two straight and is 58-57, with a series finale against Atlanta looming Thursday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Atlanta Braves 7, Miami Marlins 5. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Atlanta with a 59.80 percent probability to win. Atlanta had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 8.5.