Braves reliever Peter Moylan walked in the tie-breaking run in the seventh inning, and reliever Blaine Boyer had another terrible outing in the ninth inning of 10-4 loss to the Florida Marlins on Wednesday night at Turner Field.

The Marlins scored five runs in the ninth --- four charged to Boyer --- and improved their majors' best record (7-1) with their second win in as many nights against the Braves (5-3).

The Braves need a win in Thursday afternoon's series finale to avoid a series sweep and a losing record in the six-game homestand.

Florida matched its franchise-best eight-game start by the 1997 Marlins, who went to 8-1 before their second loss. That team won the World Series.

After scoring four runs in five innings against Braves ace Derek Lowe, the Marlins got their fifth run when Moylan walked Ross Gload with the bases loaded and two out in the seventh to give Florida its third lead, 5-4.

In the Braves' 12-11 loss at Philadelphia on April 8, relievers issued four bases-loaded walks --- including one by Moylan and two by Boyer --- during an eight-run seventh inning that obliterated a seven-run lead.

Moylan (0-1) has a 20.25 ERA in five appearances, and Boyer has a 40.50 ERA in three after giving up four runs while recording one out Wednesday. He has been charged with six runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Lowe entered Wednesday on one of the best stretches of his career, with a 7-1 record and 1.20 ERA in 12 starts dating to Aug. 11, including 5-0 with an 0.57 ERA in his last eight before Wednesday.

Only once in his past 10 starts had he allowed more than one run, and never more than two.

But against the Marlins, the sinkerballer's usual pinpoint control was off from the outset, and his five walks were the most since he had that many twice in a three-start span in September 2007 with the Dodgers.

Lowe had two walks and a wild pitch in the first inning, when the Marlins scored once and left the bases loaded.

The Braves tied the score in the bottom of the first when hot-hitting leadoff man Kelly Johnson tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Omar Infante, who filled in for injured third baseman Chipper Jones.

Lowe issued another walk to No. 8 hitter Cameron Maybin to start the second inning, but he worked out of that with a pair of strikeouts after Cameron advanced on a sacrifice.

Marlins starter Andrew Miller got down to business after the Johnson triple in the first, as the young left-hander retired the next dozen batters in order through the fourth inning.

Meanwhile, Lowe used consecutive strikeouts to strand another runner at second in the fourth inning, but the situation deteriorated rapidly for him in the fifth.

With one out in the inning, Lowe gave up four consecutive hits, capped by Braves nemesis Dan Uggla's two-run double down the first-base line for a 4-1 lead.

Uggla has four hits and six RBIs in the first two games of the series, and he has batted .367 with 28 RBIs in 29 career games at Turner Field.

NEXT FOR Braves

* Who: vs. Marlins

* When: 12:10 p.m. today

* TV; radio: SPSO; 640/96.1

On ajc.com/sports: Go online this afternoon to keep up with the Braves' series finale against the Marlins.