Quebecer Charles Leblanc got his daily hit in a 5-2 loss by the Miami Marlins against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday afternoon at Marlins Park.
• Read also: MLB: another very profitable evening for Shohei Ohtani
Having earned a day off the day before, the 26-year-old was back in the lineup and made his presence felt by reaching first base again, which he did in each of his first 12 games in the major leagues.
In the fifth inning, Leblanc hit a single to right field. At bat for the Marlins, Peyton Burdick saw receiver Chadwick Tromp try to pin the Lavallois, who was on his way to stealing second base. The throw was off target, however, which even allowed the runner to reach third.
Leblanc was left on the trails, however, when Luke Williams and Burdick were called out in a double play and Jon Berti’s weak ground roll wasn’t enough to push him to the plate.
The Marlins picked up their two runs on a Jesus Aguilar homer on the fourth assault. Matt Olson had his 23rd long ball for the Braves. Tromp also stood out in the win with three hits and as many RBIs.
The sequence ends
Leblanc’s streak with at least one shot from a safe place, however, ended in the second game of the day, a 6-2 loss for the Marlins.
In four plate appearances, the Laval resident hit two weak ground balls, walked one and was struck out. He was again used as the fifth batter.
The Braves secured the win by kicking the ball out of bounds. They indeed amassed their first four points thanks to long balls from Ronald Acuna Jr., Vaughn Grissom and Olson. The latter also allowed two of his teammates to step on the plate with a single in the seventh inning. In defeat, Aguilar again stretched his arms.
Leblanc and the Marlins are scheduled to return to action Sunday afternoon in the fourth and final game of their series against the Braves. The Georgia squad won the first three encounters.
