Braves Walk It Off to Take Series Over Blue Jays

Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy had the walk-off single to keep the NL Wild Card race on a razor's edge.

Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy watches the game-winning run come in as the Braves took two of three from the Blue Jays. / Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Braves take down the Toronto Blue Jays in 11 innings to win 4-3 and win the series.

Jarred Kelenic put the Braves on the board early with a solo shot in the bottom of the second to make it 1-0. 

Chris Sale pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just two wins and a walk while striking out seven. He had to work hard to get some of those outs, throwing 113 pitches. 

As a reward for his efforts, he passed Sandy Koufax on the all-time strikeout list and notched his 2,400th strikeout. However, this effort wouldn’t get the offensive support to give Sale his 17th win of the year. 

The Braves cruised for the first seven innings. Then, Gio Urshela committed an error trying to field a ground ball hit by Ernie Clement. 

Spencer Horowitz, who had been a thorn in the Braves side the whole series, hit a two-out, two-run shot to put the Jays on the board and give them a late lead.

Both runs were unearned. There would have been three outs already if not for the error. Regardless, the Braves found themselves behind with six outs left and were unable to respond in the bottom half of the inning. 

Matt Olson tied the game with a sac fly that scored Eli White to make it 2-2 in the bottom of the ninth. After a scoreless 10th inning, the Blue Jays took a 3-2 lead on a RBI single by George Springer. Since that was the automatic runner, all three runs were unearned in the game for the Blue Jays. 

Apart from the unearned runs, the bullpen was rock solid yet again. Raisel Iglesias pitched two more innings without an earned run in extras to lower his ERA to 1.18. 

"Even when we’re behind the 8-ball, we’re still fighting,” Sale said of the pitching effort after the game. “Bullpen came in and did a great job, and Iggy – that guy’s just on another planet right now...That was fun. They’re all fun to win, but when you’re getting down and dirty and there’s high emotions..." 

The luck of unearned runs would come the Braves' way in the bottom half of the 11th. Adam Duvall reached on a throwing error to score Michael Harris II and tie the game again. Sean Murphy hit another ground ball up the middle. The Blue Jays were playing the infield in, but Eli White had enough of a jump to score easily to walk-off and win it. 

𝗔 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝗻.

The Braves walk it off and take the series against the Blue Jays. pic.twitter.com/FiJGhDZYIK

— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) September 8, 2024

They now have the 12 extra innings wins this season, which leads the league.

The third wild card is now all tied up. With the win and the Mets’ loss, both teams are 78-65. The Braves and Mets are also just-two games behind the Padres for the No. 1 Wild Card spot.

These are the days that keep the season alive. There isn’t a lot of room for error. But this Braves team keeps finding a way to stay in it. Nineteen games to go. Let the home stretch begin. 

The Braves are back on Monday night when they play a makeup game against the Cincinnati Reds before hitting the road to Washington. First pitch is set for 7:20 p.m.