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SAN FRANCISCO – Eddie Rosario knew he had a story from the start.
Coming in contact with a curved ball from the first pitch at the start of the ninth inning, Rosario raised his right hand in the air before the ball hit the grass. His Braves teammates started celebrating, asking for the ball at the end of the game. Rosario was single, which meant he had completed the round.
Rosario’s feat, combined with Max Fried’s seven scoreless innings, were the keys to the Braves’ 3-0 win over the Giants on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park, a pair of performances as special as they were substantial to help the Atlanta’s quest for the Eastern National League Title. The Braves currently have a 1-1 / 2 game lead, awaiting the outcome of the Phillies’ game against the Mets on Sunday night.
Rosario’s afternoon was unique, considering he only saw five shots in his four home plate appearances, which is the smallest number of shots seen by a hitting player for the cycle. since at least 1990, according to the Baseball-Reference database.
Rosario had a 0-1 brace in the second, a triple in the first pitch in the fifth, a homer in the first pitch in the seventh and a single in the first pitch in the ninth.
“It’s quite a feat to do,” said Atlanta manager Brian Snitker. “It’s a big deal for a hitter to hit for the round. Nice achievement and congratulations to him.
Rosario became the second Braves player to strike for the cycle this season, joining Freddie Freeman, who accomplished the feat on Aug. 18 against the Marlins. Trea Turner and Jake Cronenworth are the other MLB players who hit for the cycle in 2021.
While Rosario’s single to secure the cycle was the most exhilarating moment on Sunday, Adam Duvall’s two-run homerun in the seventh was perhaps the most crucial. Duvall sat on a slider suspended from Giants starter Anthony DeSclafani and threw it at the San Francisco relieving box, breaking a scoreless tie and ending Atlanta’s 17-game scoreless streak. .
“Being able to drive these races was huge because it was a dead end,” said Duvall. “It was 0-0. I felt like neither team could do anything, so it was huge. “
Rosario immediately followed Duvall’s decisive shot by jumping on right-hander Zack Littell’s first pitch, simply lining him up on the high fence of right-field for a home run.
Sunday was a microcosm of Rosario’s productivity since arriving from Cleveland in an exchange on July 30. In 19 games with Atlanta, Rosario slashed 0.320 / 0.375 / 0.740 with almost as many homers (five) as strikeouts (six), helping to replace production from Ronald Acuña Jr. (right ACL tear) and Marcell Ozuna (administrative leave).
Jorge Soler (.876 OPS, 10 homers) and Duvall (.862 OPS, 14 homers) have been stellar since arriving in Atlanta. Joc Pederson struggled a bit, but had two hits on Sunday and provided some extra pop. Acuña’s singular impact cannot be replicated, but Atlanta gets production from various sources.
“All of the guys we’ve had have been incredibly important to us,” Fried said.
Not to be lost in the reshuffle of the historic Rosario day was Fried, who made his own history. Fried became the first Atlanta pitcher to record 10 consecutive quality starts since Alex Wood in 2014. Fried joins Wood, Tom Glavine, Tim Hudson, John Smoltz, Jair Jurrjens (twice) and Kris Medlen as the Braves’ only pitchers. to have 10 or more in a row. quality begins this millennium.
“Max is special,” Snitker said. “He’s a guy who continues to mature and have more confidence in himself.”
Fried’s performance was even more impressive considering it was against the Giants, who have a reputation for exhausting starting pitchers. Fried became just the fourth pitcher this season to throw at least seven scoreless goals against San Francisco, joining Walker Buehler, Kwang Hyun Kim and Cole Irvin. That’s good news for Atlanta, considering these two teams could meet in the playoffs.
“It’s about as close to the playoffs as you’re going to get,” Duvall said. “You have two teams fighting each other, every game is huge and everyone on this pitch knows how important it is to win the game. You could tell. Every ride was great, every race was great.
The Braves, who have 15 games to play in the regular season, will look to maintain their lead in the NL East as they travel to Arizona for a four-game game against the NL’s worst backs that begins on Monday.
“We are all very aware that [we’re] in the first place, ”Rosario said through an interpreter. “Every time we go up against someone, I feel like they’re going to give us their best. It’s not easy, but for us we just have to keep fighting and face the tough playoffs and tough games. “
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