Wood whiffs 12 as Gattis, Braves nip Marlins 1-0

ATLANTA -- Alex Wood struck out 12 in eight dominant innings and Evan Gattis homered to help the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 1-0 on Sunday.<br /> <br /> The Marlins had gone 60 games without getting shut out, the longest active streak in the majors.<br /> <br /> Atlanta, which has won four of five and 11 of 15, began the day 1 1/2 games out of the second NL wild-card spot.<br /> <br /> Craig Kimbrel earned his major league-high 41st save in 45 chances.<br /> <br /> Kimbrel retired Donovan Solano on a grounder and Giancarlo Stanton on a popup before giving up a single to Casey McGehee. The All-Star closer struck out pinch-hitter Garrett Jones to end it.<br /> <br /> Wood (10-10) matched his career high in strikeouts for the second time this month. The left-hander, who improved to 3-2 with a 1.86 ERA in his last seven starts, gave up five hits and walked none.<br /> <br /> Gattis, who batted .237 in his previous 33 games after returning from a back injury, hit his 21st homer in the second.<br /> <br /> The Braves got just three runners in scoring position after that despite finishing with 11 hits.<br /> <br /> In the first five innings, Wood allowed two hits - a leadoff single to Solano in the fourth and a one-out single to Jeff Baker in the second - before Nathan Eovaldi, Christian Yelich and Solano loaded the bases with consecutive singles in the sixth.<br /> <br /> But Stanton, who was tied for tops in the majors with 98 RBIs, struck out on three pitches, and McGehee took a called third strike to end the threat.<br /> <br /> Wood, mixing his fastball, curve and changeup to keep the Marlins guessing, threw strikes on 74 of 101 pitches.<br /> <br /> Eovaldi (6-10) gave up nine hits and struck out six in 6 2-3 innings, dropping his fourth straight start. Chris Hatcher replaced him after Phil Gosselin and Freddie Freeman had consecutive singles in the seventh, ending the threat on Justin Upton's flyout.<br /> <br /> Miami has lost six of eight.<br /> <br /> UP NEXT<br /> <br /> The Marlins return home Monday, when RHP Henderson Alvarez (10-6) faces the Mets. Alvarez has won four of seven career starts against New York.<br /> <br /> RHP Julio Teheran and the Braves face Philadelphia LHP Cole Hamels. Teheran has won three straight starts with a 1.47 ERA.<br /> <br /> RECORD RELIEF<br /> <br /> Kimbrel is the first pitcher to begin his career with at least 40 saves in four straight seasons.<br /> <br /> TOUGH CLIMB<br /> <br /> Despite losing just four times in their last 15 games, the second-place Braves have gained no ground on Washington in the NL East and remain six games back.<br /> <br /> LONG DAY<br /> <br /> Atlanta RF Jason Heyward went 0 for 4 after going 5 for 7 in the first two games of the series. Heyward began the afternoon hitting .348 over his last 41 games. ... Upton, who went 1 for 4, had hit safely in 20 of 27 games with 28 RBIs this month. ... Miami's Nos. 3-6 hitters - Stanton, McGehee, Baker, Jones and Ozuna, went a combined 2 for 15.<br /> <br /> HE'S OUT<br /> <br /> Marlins manager Mike Redmond unsuccessfully challenged that Solano was safe in the ninth after 3B Chris Johnson's throw barely beat the runner. The review took 1 minute, 27 seconds.