The Win Column: Ain’t baseball the best?

Feeling a little romantic this morning.

How about you?

KEEP ON FLYING

Braves third baseman Austin Riley rounds the bases after his go-ahead eighth-inning homer. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

This is why we love baseball, folks.

We love it because Austin Riley — world-class dude, world-class hitting woes — can atone for it all with one swing. Turn on a 99.9 mph fastball. Get a little help from the wind. Change everything. Say this afterward:

“But that’s the beauty of the postseason — you get a clean slate. You go out there and try to do something for the boys and for this city.”

• Sugiura: Braves can’t let Phillies off the hook
• 5 stats that defined Atlanta’s Game 1 win

We love baseball because Chris Sale can saunter out at 37 years old, hit 100 mph and go deeper into a playoff game than he ever has … and then declare in the postgame news conference that he is “literally a robot.” (CJ Nitkowksi also said during the TV broadcast that Sale has never shaken off a catcher. Makes you think.)

We love baseball because Mike Yastrzemski, more of a mark than a threat to left-handed pitchers, got the start against one of the game’s best — and delivered. We (sort of) love baseball because the Phillies’ 35-year-old catcher can snap an 0-for-34 streak with a go-ahead triple.

Because of photos like this one, too.

Michael Harris II celebrates in the dugout after scoring in the sixth inning. (Jason Getz/AJC)

We love baseball, y’all, because today’s Game 2 pits Philly’s Cristopher Sánchez, who threw 50⅔ scoreless innings earlier this season, against Atlanta’s Tyler Mahle — a guy everyone around here shrugged off at the trade deadline.

Already a rotation savior, the 10-year veteran now has a chance to shove the Braves into the next round.

In his postseason debut.

“Super exciting,” Mahle said Monday. “No other way to put it.”

⭐ Save this link and check back for live updates during today’s game.

GOOD HEADLINES, BAD JOKES

Atlanta will be first US stop for 2028 Olympic torch relay

It’s lit.

No. 1 JUCO prospect Alius Mayo flips commitment to Georgia

The 4-star cornerback also works as an undercover agent for Miracle Whip.

Brent Key says Georgia Tech is ‘near rebuilding’ after 1-3 start

To be more precise, Key said the Jackets’ bye week is less about “improving” and more about “damn near rebuilding a football team.” Woof.

‘A true team effort’: KIPP Atlanta is AJC Varsity Team of the Week

KIPP stands for “Knowledge Is Power Program,” by the way.

Tagovailoa on injury: ‘It wasn’t something I could control’

“I just thought it wasn’t something as serious. But that’s what it was, and it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is, you know?” Kind of?

Hawks hope Nashville training camp builds chemistry

We’re takin’ a pedal pub to Tootsie’s!

HOW TO WIN LIKE THE DREAM, IN 3 EASY STEPS

With Game 2 of the Dream’s first-round playoff series on tap tonight in D.C., I reached out to official Win Column Data Buddy Rahul Deshpande and said, “official Win Column Data Buddy Rahul Deshpande, make the people something that shows why the Dream is or are so good.”

He said, “OK.”

And, “are, I think.”

First, given the team’s Game 1 comeback, we looked at point differentials by quarter. Turns out that outscoring the Mystics by 17 in the third quarter Sunday was an anomaly compared to the regular season, but they are typically very good in the fourth.

Lovely, but a little boring.

This was cooler:

Basically, the Dream outscore people by taking more shots … they get more shots by getting more offensive rebounds and more steals … and by the way, most of the extra shots are 3-pointers.

All that stuff adds up quick.

My accountant calls it “compounding interest.”

🗓️ Watch Game 2 at 7 p.m. on ESPN. If the Dream win, they advance. If they lose, get ready for a decisive Friday night showdown at State Farm Arena.

WAS ZAC ROBINSON THE PROBLEM?

This is not a declaration that everything is and will be perfect for Michael Penix Jr. and the Falcons moving forward. I also try not to take direct shots at people (the Mets don’t count).

But, uh, was Zac Robinson the problem?

The former Falcons offensive coordinator never really put it together during his two seasons in Atlanta, at least consistently. Everything felt harder than it needed to be.

• One game under head coach Kevin Stefanski and OC Tommy Rees, though, and Penix is taking nearly half his snaps under center, running play-action like a boss and posting top-5 QBR numbers.
• And our old frenemy Kirk Cousins? He’s got the Raiders off to a 3-0 start while tossing three touchdown passes each time out … a feat he accomplished just four times in 22 starts for Atlanta.

Then there’s Tampa Bay.

Down in Robinson’s new home, the Buccaneers are 0-3 — and even before quarterback Baker Mayfield hurt his thumb, folks were wondering how everything got so disjointed.

Legendary Bucs defender Gerald McCoy, on the “This is Football” podcast: “The most surprising thing is how off Baker and this offense looks. Zac Robinson, you know, he … I thought he was gonna put together something, you know, it just ain’t, it’s not looking good.”

There’s also this, from a recent post on Bucs Wire:

“Tampa Bay has talented individual pieces, but the offense has not consistently put those pieces in positions to succeed. Three games do not define Robinson’s tenure, but 13 sacks, poor third-down production, red-zone struggles, and repeated protection breakdowns are enough to raise questions about the fit.

“With Jalon Daniels potentially taking over (at quarterback), Robinson now has to prove he can adjust his scheme to his players rather than expecting them to adjust to it.”

Sounds familiar.