TAKEAWAYS from Atlanta's comeback victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night

Atlanta's late rally caps their MLB-leading 12th victory when trailing in the 8th inning or later

The 2023 Atlanta Braves are never truly out of a game. 

Down 5-4 in the bottom of the 8th inning, Eddie Rosario launched a two-run home run to give Atlanta a 6-5 series-clinching victory over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night. Atlanta's set up for a potential series sweep on Sunday with Max Fried on the mound. 

What do you need to know from the contest? 

Yonny Chirinos did better, but was it enough to hold onto a rotation spot?

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

We entered this series talking about the weak link in the rotation being Ronny Chirinos, and he didn't exactly quiet that talk with his performance. 

Atlanta was sitting on a 28-inning scoreless streak, stretching back to the 9th inning of the series opener against the Yankees, that was snapped by LaMonte Wade's first-pitch leadoff home run. Chirinos went on to surrender four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out four. 

Atlanta's pen (so clutch this season) had to cover five innings, and did it with only one additional run allowed, and even that was a miracle - the Giants loaded the bases in the 6th with no outs, and after Pierce Johnson relieved Brad Hand, he held the Giants to only one run thanks to a double play and a strikeout.  

Kirby Yates was pitcher of record after pitching the 8th and got the win, while Raisel Iglesias worked a 2nd straight day and got a save, his 24th of the season.  

With multiple options looming in AAA to take the 5th starter spot, will Atlanta DFA Chirinos or give him another shot next week, presumably on the road in San Francisco on Friday night? 

We know Michael Soroka probably isn't an option to come up and take a start until mid-September (read more about that here), but Allan Winans, AJ Smith-Shawver, and others are all in AAA Gwinnett as well. Atlanta probably won't announce starters for the road rematch against the Giants until after next week's Mets series, but a transaction would happen before then if Chirinos was being removed from the roster. 

Eddie Rosario wants Atlanta to pick up his $9M option for next year

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

We've started looking ahead at offseason roster decisions (here's the first one, about Charlie Morton's $20M club option) and Eddie Rosario was next for us to write about, with Eddie having a $9M club option for 2024. 

He probably made the debate a bit tougher. 

Rosario went 4-4 tonight, driving in three, scoring twice, and capping the night off with a mammoth two-run shot in the bottom of the 8th that proved to be the winning runs for Atlanta. 

.@IngramRadio with the call! #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/Eew1n5nIOQ

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) August 20, 2023

He got a curtain call from the Atlanta faithful, to boot, with chants of "Eddie! Eddie!" ringing through Truist Park for the next half-inning. 

Rosario's now batting .260 on the season with a .789 OPS, 19 HRs, and 61 RBIs. He may be slightly below average on his defense in left field, owing to poor jumps and not having the foot speed to recover and steal the base hit, but he's carrying his weight offensively and obviously well-liked by the clubhouse and fans alike. $9M feels like a bargain compared to what a good outfielder can run you in free agency. (We'll have more on that this week.)

Atlanta's seemingly settled into a routine without Ozzie Albies

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

So much for a 2nd base platoon. 

Despite fan favorite Vaughn Grissom being called up after Ozzie Albies went on the injured list, deadline trade acquisition Nicky Lopez has continued to get all the starts at 2nd base and bat 9th in place of an injured Ozzie. Michael Harris II has moved up from his traditional bottom spot in the order to bat 2nd behind Ronald Acuña Jr. 

We did see Vaughn Grissom get in the game in this one, though, with Vaughn pinch-hitting for Lopez to open the 7th inning (he grounded out) and staying in the game to play defense without issue. 

There was some speculation that Atlanta would opt for Lopez's defense behind groundball heavy pitchers like Chirinos and Elder, while opting for Grissom's superior offense behind strikeout-heavy pitchers like Max Fried and Spencer Strider, but that hasn't been the pattern for Brian Snitker and staff. 

Maybe Sunday will see a slumping Orlando Arcia (1-26 in his last 7 games) get a day off, with Grissom playing 2nd and Lopez at shortstop. 

So what's next for the Atlanta Braves? 

Atlanta's eying a sweep on Sunday, with Max Fried (4-1, 2.57 ERA) on the mound. As of the end of Saturday's game, San Francisco has not yet announced a starter, and have floated a few options (including top prospect Kyle Harrison). Game time is scheduled for 1:35 PM ET from Truist Park, closing out Alumni Weekend. The game broadcast is available locally on Bally Sports Southeast and on MLB.tv outside of Braves Country. The radio call is available in the Atlanta Metro area on 680 The Fan, regionally on the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, and nationally on MLB.tv.

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