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ATLANTA – Following his team’s 7-6 10-innings win over the Nationals at Truist Park on Thursday night, Braves manager Brian Snitker was asked if he had found a way to better define a game like this, at the in which the teams repeatedly exchange punches over the last few innings.
“It was just mind-numbing and exhausting,” Snitker said. “I’m proud of the guys. They fought tonight in this game against adversity. It was something.
Joc Pederson put an end to the madness when he laced a single to Wander Suero’s left field in the 10th. Pederson’s second career late-game RBI ended a battle in which the two division rivals traded leads three times in the past six innings.
With one loss, the Braves would have lost that three-game series against the Nationals. But in winning their 14th win of the season against Washington, they moved up 3 1/2 games to the Phillies, second in the National League East.
As the club aim for a fourth straight division title, it should be noted that at this same point last year, with 23 games to go, the Braves’ lead in the NL East was only two games.
“It’s a great team victory,” said Pederson. “It shows the kind of group we have, to be able to come back from behind after getting a little hit in the face and then get up and run a few races. It’s huge. That’s what wins games in October.
Here are five key moments from this thriller:
1) Winner of Pederson’s game: After the Braves’ bullpen allowed a single run in each of the last four rounds of regulation, Jacob Webb came out unscathed from the top of the 10th. Suero charged up the goals by hitting Austin Riley on the ninth pitch of his appearance at home plate, then struck out Adam Duvall on strikes. But Pederson delivered an elevated cutter to left field for the two-out hitting that led to him being mobbed around second base.
“There’s a guy who’s been in these big situations and on the big stage his entire career,” Snitker said. “I don’t think any situation will ever overwhelm him.”
For Pederson, the decisive single served as retribution for his inability to secure the starting triple from Lane Thomas, which led the Nationals to score a second round closer to Will Smith in the ninth. The veteran Braves outfielder briefly had the ball in his glove, but fell as his jump carried him to the outfield wall.
“It’s unfortunate that they took advantage of that and scored,” said Pederson. “Fortunately, we won the game. But it must be an exit.
2) Circuits in the eighth round: After Luis García gave the Nationals the lead with his solo eighth inning homerun against Rich Rodríguez, Freddie Freeman and Adam Duvall both hit homers in the lower half of the inning against Mason Thompson.
Freeman’s tying shot gave him 29 home runs and Duvall set a new career high of 34 home runs with his go-ahead shot. Duvall, who had a hit in seven straight games, marked his first birthday with three homers in a 29-9 win over the Marlins. He remains the only player in the history of the Braves to have played two games on three homers.
3) Matzek’s game: It was a tough night for the Braves relievers as AJ Minter allowed a point in the sixth and Luke Jackson gave up a point in the seventh. But Tyler Matzek avoided any further damage in the seventh when he produced one of the best defensive plays you’ll see from a pitcher.
With runners in the second and third and one in the seventh, the Braves intentionally made Juan Soto walk, then asked Matzek to face Josh Bell. Bell responded with a sharp comebacker who struck the left-handed reliever’s foot and rebounded towards the plate.
Matzek grabbed the ball, grabbed it with his left hand and turned around on the board as he fell headfirst into the grass. The pitch to wide receiver Travis d’Arnaud narrowly beat a slippery Thomas at home and kept the game tied.
“It was good in this situation that Matzek kept his cool and got out,” Snitker said. “It’s a huge game, obviously.”
4) Vogt’s roller coaster: Everything seemed to be going great for Stephen Vogt, who entertained the Braves by doing his famous referee impersonation in the clubhouse before the game. The veteran backup receiver went on to produce his fourth career multi-homer game and the first since June 30, 2017. He came into the day without an additional hit in the 74 batters he had counted since the Braves played. ‘have acquired D-dos.
But Vogt’s good day ended in a rude way when he felt something jump at his hip as he tried to make a throw for third base in the seventh inning. He will be further evaluated, but it looks like the Braves may have to bring back William Contreras to serve as Arnaud’s replacement.
5) The power of Soler: Jorge Soler punched a powerful shot at Nationals starter Erick Fedde in the sixth. Soler has reached .286 with 10 home runs and a .926 OPS in the 35 games he’s played since acquiring the Royals. He had scored 13 home runs in 94 games for Kansas City.
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