TAKEAWAYS: Braves bomb away early, overcome blown lead late to beat Philly in ten
It was a battle of aces tonight at Citizens Bank Park, and the Braves appeared to be coasting. A late rally from the Phillies made it stressful, but Atlanta prevailed in ten innings and lowered their magic number to two. Here are some takeaways.
History Makers
The biggest headline of the night is Matt Olson tying the franchise single-season home run record with his 51st, an opposite-field job off Phillies starter Zack Wheeler. That ties Andruw Jones's 2005 tally, which had stood alone atop the Braves franchise record books (and that's all of Braves history, not just the Atlanta years).
Olson also now has 128 RBI, which coincidentally is the same total Andruw had in 2005 as well. He's four back of the Atlanta Braves' single-season RBI record (Gary Sheffield with 132 in 2003), seven back of the modern era franchise record (Eddie Mathews with 135 in 1953), and 17 back of the overall franchise record (Hugh Duffy with 145 in 1894).
And that was just for starters. Ronald Acuña Jr. is making history with pretty much everything he does lately, and his 37th bomb of the season, a two-run blast off Wheeler that put the Braves ahead, draws him ever closer to the 40/70 plateau, which no one in baseball history has ever even approached. It also vaulted him past the great Dale Murphy for the club's modern era single-season runs scored record (132 for Ronnie, ahead of Murphy's 131-run 1983 season, his second consecutive MVP-winning campaign).
Marcell Ozuna then put the Braves as a team in the record books, with his three-run bomb later that inning being both his 34th and the team's 281st of the season. That sets a new National League record and helps the club's continued push for the all-time record (307), held by the 2019 Twins.
It's hard to keep up with all the various records this team might set, but we're working hard to keep track of them. It should be a fun finish to the season for the statistically and baseball history-inclined.
A Pair of Aces
This had the feel of a playoff game, with Max Fried and Zack Wheeler getting the ball for their respective teams. Fried easily won that particular duel, as Wheeler was tagged for six earned runs, all coming via those three homers.
But while Wheeler uncharacteristically struggled against his hometown club, Max pitched well. He only went five innings, which seemed odd given his relatively low pitch count, but he was effective while he was out there. He allowed four hits, struck out six, and walked two on the night, with the only run he allowed coming off the bat of his nemesis, Nick Castellanos. (Castellanos is now 8-13 against Fried, though that was his first homer off the star lefty.)
Bullpen Boondoggle
With Fried out earlier than we're used to seeing Braves starters lifted, the bullpen was asked to cover four innings against a deep and dangerous Phillies lineup. The Honkytonk Man - the greatest Intercontinental Champion in MLB history, Michael Tonkin - was summoned first. He walked the first two men he faced in the sixth, but rallied after a mound visit from Rick Kranitz and retired the next three in order. He came back out for the seventh and wouldn't be as fortunate, with a Johan Rojas double and a Trea Turner single plating the Phils' second run.
Joe Jiménez was the next man up, and he struggled badly. Bryce Harper, a long-time punisher of Braves pitching, greeted him rudely with a 430-foot solo jack. J.T. Realmuto flirted with a homer of his own, but Michael Harris was able to flag it down on the warning track in center. But Nick Castellanos followed with a single, and then Bryson Stott cranked a two-run tater (after initially attempting to lay down a sac bunt) to pull the Phillies to within a run.
Brian Snitker then went to A.J. Minter, called on for his third consecutive day of work. He struck out lefties Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber to end the inning and send it to the ninth. With the Philly 'pen holding the Braves' bats at bay, it was up to closer Raisel Iglesias, also pitching for the third consecutive day, to nail it down for Atlanta. And with all the lineup turnover that went on in the eighth, wouldn't you know he had to deal with the heart of the Philadelphia lineup to do it?
Trea Turner spoiled things right away, tying the game with a solo homer after falling behind 0-2. With all the momentum going the home team's way, Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper each singled to put the winning run at second with no outs. Iglesias rallied, though, and dominated Realmuto before inducing an around-the-horn double play ball off the bat of Castellanos to send us to extras.
Handy Man
Old pal Craig Kimbrel came on for the tenth, and Eddie Rosario delivered an RBI single to score ghost-man pinch-runner Forrest Wall and put Atlanta back in front. Orlando Arcia flirted with a two-run homer, but Brandon Marsh flagged it down on the warning track in left. Marsh then made a nice play to rob Michael Harris of a hit to end the inning. Lefty Brad Hand was brought on to try to close it out against the bottom half of the Philly order.
Hand was greeted by lefties Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh, who didn't get the start against Fried and were brought on in the late innings. With no one available to pinch-hit for them, Hand utilized his platoon advantage and big sweeper to retire them both, striking out Marsh with the tying run on third and one out. He then got Johan Rojas to pop out and bring to a close one of the most jam-packed baseball games you'll ever see. The magic number drops to two.
On Deck
The same two teams are back at it tomorrow night, wrapping up this four-game set with Spencer Strider squaring off against lefty Christopher Sanchez. Strider looks to shake off both the flu and a rough outing against the Cardinals last week. He also hopes to bolster his Cy Young candidacy. A Braves win would lock up their sixth consecutive division title, but we know the Phillies won't want to see Atlanta celebrating on their field.
The TV broadcast is on Bally Sports South locally and MLB.tv and ESPN+ outside of Braves Country. The radio call is available in the Atlanta metro area on 680 The Fan, across the Southeast on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, and nationally on MLB.TV.
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