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The Braves came in with some momentum on their side and an opportunity to tie the Phillies for the top of the division. All of those dreams were put on hold as the Braves lost a late lead, but luckily the Atlanta baseball club employs Ozhaino Albies. Until their last out in the 11th inning, the Braves main hitter hit a three-run homerun in the Chop House to give Atlanta a shocking 8-6 victory.
The Braves quickly found success against Reds starter Wade Miley, scoring five first points against the veteran left-hander. Austin Riley kicked off the scoring for Atlanta with an RBI online double, which left the stick at 109 MPH, over the center fielder’s header. Ozzie Albies scored easily to give the Braves a 1-0 lead, but Jorge Soler went through a Ron Washington stop sign and was easily sent off. The rally would end after Dansby Swanson left, but Atlanta had an early advantage.
The second set saw the Braves extend their lead on a two-run homerun from Guillermo Heredia who was crushed in left field. That blast had an exit speed of 107 MPH and landed deep in the seats, giving Heredia their fifth homerun of the season and giving Atlanta a 3-0 lead over Miley.
The Braves two more in the third inning on another double produced by Austin Riley, which brought Freddie Freeman home on a tight game at home plate. Freeman was initially called out, but criticism of the replay actually favored the Braves for a change and the call was canceled. Dansby Swanson followed with a fly sack, which gave Atlanta a 5-0 lead.
This game was hardly comfortable for Touki Toussaint on the mound, but the first fireworks of the Braves offensive allowed him to work with a lead. Toussaint was in trouble early in the game but avoided damage by striking out Mike Moustakas in the first half of the first set to leave two runners on the mat. The Reds were calm offensively despite struggling to find the strike zone for Toussaint. Their silence, unfortunately, only lasted until the sixth inning, when Joey Votto notched a two-run homerun against Toussaint. A pretty compelling argument could have been made to pull the starter Atlanta out after the fifth, but Snitker opted to allow the top of the Reds order to see Toussaint for a third time. After the Votto circuit, Toussaint awarded Moustakas a single and was withdrawn in favor of Jesse Chavez. Toussaint finished after pitching five innings while allowing two runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
The Enclosure of the Braves trembled under the relief of Toussaint. Chavez allowed a single to the first batter he faced, but managed to escape, blocking a pair of runners. Chris Martin allowed a walk and a single in the seventh inning, then was called out with two strikeouts in favor of Tyler Matzek, who quickly struck out Moustakas to block another pair of runners. In the eighth inning, Luke Jackson was greeted with an insane brace and cut from Tyler Naquin’s bat to open the inning. Next batter, Eugenio Suarez, hit a brace down center that scored Naquin and reduced the Braves’ advantage to 5-3.
Meanwhile, the Cincinnati staff were shooting scoreless innings to keep the game within reach of the Reds’ offense. Cessa, Wilson and Hembree combined to allow two base runners relief from Miley, who had put out her last six batters before quitting after the fifth inning. All their combined efforts paid off in the ninth round.
Will Smith came in ninth for Atlanta in an effort to maintain a two-point lead. The southpaw had been faltering on his last outings, but this one started off with some promise as he pulled Jesse Winker out on strikes to start the set. After hitting a 1-2 count against Nick Castellanos, Smith’s next offer was a slider that hit the batter on his foot. This paved the way for Joey Votto to potentially tie the game and the former MVP did just that, crushing a first-step slider in the Chop House to tie the score at 5-5. It was the second missed save in four days for Smith, whose grip on the closest role certainly seems to slip with each appearance.
The Braves had the opportunity to finish the game in the ninth inning, putting two runners against the Reds’ closest, Michael Lorenzen. Ozzie Albies narrowly missed the end of the game with a deep volley to right field but failed. Pinch hitter Ehire Adrianza came to bat with two strikeouts and the winning run on third base, but struck out to send the game into extra innings.
The tenth inning saw both clubs block their respective ghost runners, with neither team even advancing the runner to third base. Austin Riley and Dansby Swanson each took off in the lower half of the inning, followed by a strikeout from Adam Duvall to push the procedure into the 11th inning.
The Reds managed to strike a run in the 11th inning as main hitter Kyle Farmer scored the shot, ultimately moving the extra inning ghost runner from his perch on second base. This gave Cincinnati a 6-5 lead over Braves right-hander Edgar Santana, who was able to stop the rally and give Atlanta the opportunity to block in the lower half of the inning.
That scoring opportunity was in jeopardy as the Braves were in their final game. Old friend Lucas Sims took out Joc Pederson with two strikeouts to put the winning point on first base, which gave Ozzie Albies a shot at winning the game and the youngster delivered in a dramatic fashion. A high fastball was dropped into the Chop House to give the Braves an incredible victory after apparently being knocked down. This team continues to fight and Albies fighting in this batting final is a perfect example of the resilience of this club. What a victory for the home team.
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