ATLANTA — Braves interim manager Brian Snitker says Gordon Beckham is "bouncing around like he's a teenager."
That makes sense, because the return to his childhood hometown has helped Beckham add new life to his career.
Beckham hit a three-run homer, Nick Markakis drove in two runs and Atlanta beat the Miami Marlins 7-2 on Saturday to secure their first home series win of the season.
Beckham, 29, an Atlanta native and former University of Georgia standout, spent most of his first seven seasons with the Chicago White Sox before signing with theBraves as a free agent. He is hitting .317 while earning more starts at third base and second base than was expected at the start of the season.
"I feel good," Beckham said. "I enjoy putting on this uniform every day. It's a lot of fun for me, being from Atlanta."
The Braves improved to a still-dismal 4-20 at Turner Field by winning the first two games of the three-game series. Atlanta rallied from a 2-0 deficit for the second straight day.
Beckham said players hadn't emphasized the elusive home series win.
"Not really. I know that sounds bad, but we show up every day and come to the park and work hard. ... So we're not putting more pressure on ourselves than we already put on it."
The Braves are 5-0 against the Marlins and 9-34 against all other teams. Atlantaswept a three-game series at Miami on April 15-17.
Atlanta took the lead by scoring three runs in the sixth off Jose Urena (1-1). Beckham hit his homer off Edwin Jackson after Jackson walked two batters in the seventh.
Atlanta, which began the day tied with Minnesota for the worst record in the majors, is 5-6 under Snitker.
The Marlins committed three errors, including two by center fielder Marcell Ozuna.
"We didn't play good enough to win," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "We didn't score enough to win. We didn't stop them. You don't deserve to win if you don't do enough to win."
Eric O'Flaherty (1-3) recorded two outs after rookie Aaron Blair, recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett before the game, allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
Miami led 2-1 in the sixth when, with two runners on base, Markakis hit a single off Urena that bounced past Ozuna for an error. Markakis raced to third, and Freddie Freeman and Tyler Flowers scored. Jeff Francoeur doubled in Markakis for a 4-2 lead.
Miami left-hander Wei-Yin Chen allowed one run on two hits and one walk in five innings.
