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Marlins give Turner another shot against Braves

Jul 22, 2014 - 2:39 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Miami Marlins will give former top prospect Jacob Turner another shot in the rotation on Tuesday night in the second of four straight meetings with the Atlanta Braves.

The ninth overall pick of the 2009 draft by Detroit, Turner was part of the package that the Marlins received from the Tigers in a 2012 trade for both Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez. He went just 3-8 in 20 starts last year with the Marlins, but posted a solid 3.74 earned run average.

The 23-year-old righty opened this campaign 2-4 with a 6.38 ERA in nine starts before getting moved into a relief role. Turner didn't excel in that spot either, posting a 5.74 ERA out of the bullpen.

Still, the Marlins are hopeful the young arm can find his way in his first start since June 11.

"This is another opportunity for him to show he can win at the big league level," Marlins manager Mike Redmond told MLB.com. "I want him to finish out the season. That's the plan. We want him to be successful and help us win. As a manager, you don't want to be pulling guys in and out of the rotation. Stability is the key to success. But ultimately, that's up to them."

Turner has faced the Braves five previous times as a starter, going 1-3 with a 4.40 ERA.

The Braves will counter with left-hander Mike Minor, who was taken two picks ahead of Turner in 2009 and went through his own struggles in the first half of this season.

Minor notched his first victory since May 19 with an 11-6 triumph over the Chicago Cubs on July 12, but did so in less-than-impressive fashion. He was charged with six runs and 11 hits over six innings, though it did mark the first time in seven outings he did not allow a home run.

"He just battled every inning. Nothing came easy today," said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez of Minor. "I'm glad that we were able to get our bats going to get him the win."

The 26-year-old snapped a nine-start winless drought (0-3) and sits 3-5 on the year with a 4.86 ERA. He is 3-4 lifetime versus the Marlins with a 4.52 ERA in 13 meetings.

Atlanta got good pitching in Monday's opener from Julio Teheran, but ended up losing a 3-1 decision in 10 innings. Teheran had a no-hitter broken up with two outs in the fifth inning when he yielded a solo homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia and ended up striking out 11 over seven innings.

"I felt like everything was working today, even though I just had one mistake. It cost me one run. I feel like it was the best start I had this year," Teheran said after Atlanta fell a game back of Washington for first place in the NL East.

The Braves had won four of five, but after closer Craig Kimbrel escaped a no- out, bases-loaded jam in the ninth, but Shae Simmons yielded a two-run, go- ahead single to Garrett Jones in the top of the 10th frame.

Steve Cishek fanned two in a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th to notch his 22nd save of the season for the Marlins, who have won two straight on the heels of a six-game slide.

Marlins starter Tom Koehler struck out seven and allowed a run on five hits and two walks over 6 2/3 innings.

"Any time you go out there and face Julio (Teheran), you know runs are going to be a minimum. You want to match as many zeroes as you can and try to get the team into the dugout as quick as possible," Koehler said.

The Braves have now split 10 meetings with Miami this season, although they are 14-7 over their last 21 meetings against the Marlins at Turner Field.