Heyward does it again: Game-winning hit in 9th

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By David O'Brien

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, game on the line. Jason Heyward was in his element again Wednesday night.

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Jason Heyward celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the Braves' win over the Reds Wednesday at Turner Field.

Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com Jason Heyward celebrates with teammates after scoring a run in the Braves' win over the Reds Wednesday at Turner Field.

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Once again, he came through in grand fashion.

The Braves' rookie sensation hit a game-ending double to drive in Martin Prado for a thrilling 5-4 win against the surging Cincinnati Reds at Turner Field, after the Braves had blown a four-run lead in the final two innings.

"It gets loud, but it's a calming situation -- at home or on the road," Heyward said of pressure-filled moments. "I just go up to the plate and not think about the noise in the big situation in the game. Just relax."

Heyward had a triple and two doubles, the last providing the Braves with their seventh win in their final at-bat and second walk-off win in as many nights.

With their 12th win in 18 games and seventh in nine home games, the Braves (20-20) got back to the .500 level for the first time since they were 8-8.

Martin Prado started the ninth-inning rally with a two-out single off Nick Massett, before Heyward's full-count liner to the right-field corner touched off a celebration. Teammates ran out of the dugout to swarm the big right fielder on the infield grass.

The Braves had dealt the Reds just their second loss in 11 games, and relievers Takashi Saito and Billy Wagner were off the hook a bit after giving up four runs in the final two innings to blow a potential first win for starter Kenshin Kawakami.

"[Heyward] doesn't surprise me anymore," said Wagner, who gave up a tying homer to Chris Heisey to start the ninth. "He's not 20; he's about a 10-year veteran, the way he carries himself and handles all the attention and pressure. It's great to play with him."

Catcher Brian McCann, whose two-run homer highlighted a three-run first inning for the Braves, also has come to expect this stuff from Heyward.

"It's amazing," McCann said. "I can't imagine being 20 years old and coming up here expecting to to produce like he does, and the way he handles imself, how humble he is. Take away the baseball, and he's [still] off-the-charts as a human being."

Kawakami didn't get a win, but pitched well enough to get one, working six scoreless innings of five-hit ball (one walk, five strikeouts) despite straining his back after two innings and developing a blister on his right heel.

Manager Bobby Cox said that's why he replaced the right-hander after he had thrown only 79 pitches in six innings. He left with a 4-0 lead but remained 0-6 in eight starts. Kawakami said he should be ready for his next start.

"He gutted out the last three innings," Cox said. "He pitched with it. This game matches the one he threw in [San Francisco] where he had [Tim] Lincecum beat 2-0 pretty late in the game. I thought he was really good tonight."

It was the first time Kawakami allowed fewer than three earned runs since giving up two in six innings of his season debut at San Francisco.

"He deserved a better fate tonight," said Wagner (4-0). "That just sucked. A win's a win, but the guy went out there and pitched six great innings. I had that it didn't go his way."

Japanese countryman Takashi Saito blew most of the lead in a three-run Cincinnati eighth inning, giving up three hits before the final run of the inning scored on a hit off Eric O'Flaherty charged to Saito.

McCann homered off Aaron Harang in the opening inning, his second homer in five games after going without one for 23 games from April 12 through May 12.

McCann has 10 hits and five RBIs in his past seven games, after batting .175 with one extra-base hit and three RBIs in 57 at-bats over his previous 18 games.

Chipper Jones also had two hits and two RBIs, driving in Heyward in the first and fifth innings.

Kawakami had his first scoreless outing of more than four innings since Aug. 8, 2009, when he pitched seven innings without giving up a run against the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

Before Wednesday, Kawakami was 0-2 with an 11.74 ERA in three games against the Reds, including a start at Cincinnati on April 26, 2009, in which he allowed eight hits and a career-high eight runs in 4 2/3 innings.

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