Atlanta Braves Complete Historic Come Back to Defeat Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday Night

The Atlanta Braves made one of the biggest comebacks in franchise history on Saturday in Truist Park

Atlanta Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies and right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. celebrate the team's come-from-behind victory on Saturday night. / Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Braves completed one of their biggest comebacks in the organization's history to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-8 on Saturday night.

Per MLB.com researcher Sarah Langs, this was only the fourth time in franchise history that the Braves have came back from six runs down or more in the first inning to win the game.

Here’s what you need to know about from the outing:

Max Fried struggled early

When Max Fried started the second game of the season, against the Philadelphia Phillies, he didn’t make it out of the first inning. Giving up three runs on two hits and three walks in just two-thirds of an inning. It took Fried 43 pitches to get those two outs (although a blown call extended the outing). 

Tonight wasn’t much better, depending on how you look at it. 

Fried made it out of the first inning - he went four and a third, in fact. But it wasn’t smooth sailing, with Fried allowing six runs in the first on seven hits, including a leadoff homer for Arizona second baseman Ketel Marte, his second leadoff homer of the series. Fried finished with eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits and one walk in his 4.1 innings, walking one and striking out five. He threw 97 pitches, 66 for strikes. 

Fried’s stuff wasn’t...stuffin’ like usual, with the lefty getting only one whiff on sixteen swings at his fastball and only seven whiffs overall. He finished with a CSW (Called Strikes plus Whiffs) of just 29%. 

After the game, Fried was very candid and direct when evaluating his performance: “It’s my job to go deep into games. [...] And the fact that I’ve really only, in two starts, gotten into the fifth (once) and at high pitch counts? That’s not acceptable for me.” 

Fried said that he varied his pitch selection slightly in the second inning, where he struck out the side, by throwing slightly more sliders instead of curveballs.  

With the recent news of Spencer Strider’s UCL injury and potential extended absence, Fried’s going to be called on to lead the rotation this season. And he’s up to the task, vowing that “I’m planning on taking the ball every single time once it’s my turn in the rotation.” Let’s hope he can get right in his next start. 

Atlanta’s offense, as always, does not quit

The Braves bats got to work, although it took a little while. Atlanta didn’t register their first hit until Jarred Kelenic singled with two outs in the third inning, and didn’t get on the board until the 4th inning. 

Just like last night, Marcell Ozuna picked up the first RBI of the game, driving home Matt Olson with a double in the fourth - Ozuna added a three-run homer in the 5th, finishing the night 3 for 5 with two runs and four RBIs.

But when those bats got to work, they didn’t let up. Atlanta scored multiple runs in four different innings to ultimately take a 9-8 lead in the 8th inning. For the second straight night, the team was in a hole, and for the second straight night, the Braves powered their way to a lead. 

Snitker said he was proud of how the team performed, with Marcell Ozuna and Jarred Kelenic being singled out for praise by the manager. 

For Kelenic, Snitker mentioned how he’s been more comfortable at the plate, saying that it all goes back to that mini-heater Kelenic had at the end of spring when he went 5-13 with a homer and a triple in the final week of Grapefruit League action. “Before we left spring training, he (was) starting to kind of get more relaxed and settled in. [...] He just missed hitting one out, and has been getting good at-bats.” 

The bullpen, once again, shined

For the second straight day, Atlanta’s pen was asked to cover more than half the game, with Fried not completing the fifth inning. And for the second straight day, the bullpen handled it. 

Dylan Lee got a “great job” from Snitker after being the first pitcher in after Fried and giving Atlanta 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball, giving up only two hits and a walk. “That was huge” for the Braves, as they were essentially playing a man down with the injury to Strider and how many innings they had to cover on Friday night. 

Lee will be down “for a few days” after throwing 37 pitches, but the rest of the bullpen should be available barring possibly Raisel Iglesias, who has pitched in two straight ninth innings and could use a day off.  

Atlanta will also make a roster move on Sunday morning, putting Strider on the injured list and calling up a pitcher to replace him. Strider’s next start would have been Wednesday, so Atlanta could either go with a starter and let him ride the bench for a few days until he’s needed or add a reliever on a shorter-term basis and make another move on Wednesday morning for the starter for that day. 

What’s next for the Atlanta Braves?

Atlanta’s back in action on Sunday afternoon, trying to get the series sweep against Arizona. The pitching matchup is Chris Sale vs Ryne Nelson, with first pitch scheduled for 1:35 PM ET.