Are you surprised?
If so, you shouldn’t be. The Braves do this a lot.
Down a run heading to the bottom of the seventh, they scored twice to retake the lead, then added on later. They eventually beat the Mariners, 6-2, in Friday’s series opener at Truist Park.
Five observations:
1. We have seen this move before – weekday or weekend, night or day.
The Braves fall behind.
The Braves – in whatever way – come back.
The Braves win.
The theme: They don’t panic when they’re down.
“It’s good,” Matt Olson said. “It’s something that you can feel right away here. I think it’s just guys who trust their ability and trust the team. We’ve come back in a lot of games, and we can put up three, four, five runs in an inning and trust the back end of the bullpen.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
This time, Austin Riley led off the bottom of the seventh inning with an infield hit off the third baseman’s glove. Eddie Rosario grounded into a force out that could’ve been a double play. Then Ozzie Albies drew a walk, which chased Seattle starter Bryce Miller from the game.
Facing reliever Trevor Gott, Marcell Ozuna flared a ball into no man’s land in right field to score the tying run. Orlando Arcia followed by launching a ball off the wall to score Rosario as the Braves took the lead.
And in the eighth inning, the Braves scored three more runs, giving Raisel Iglesias an easy assignment for the ninth.
“We never panic,” Ozuna said. “We’ve been doing this since I came from (the Cardinals) to the Atlanta Braves. When I came to the team, I’ve seen that we never panic, we never give up. We can be down 10 and we’re trying to come back.”
2. These days, high-velocity pitchers are white whales. And for good reason – typically, velocity is more difficult to hit, which helps a pitcher get more outs.
Bryce Elder is a reminder that pitchers who don’t throw overly hard can still carve out careers in today’s game.
“Using movement and all, it’s really kind of refreshing to see he doesn’t have to throw 100 miles per hour to be effective – where he can use movement and location and secondary pitches, and still be successful,” manager Brian Snitker said before Friday’s game.
Elder averaged 89.3 mph with his sinker and 90.6 mph with his fastball. This is normal for him.
And once again, he gave the Braves a chance to win by pitching into the seventh. He was charged with two runs over six innings. He struck out six batters and walked one. For the most part, he kept the ball on the ground.
The hitters ensured they didn’t waste his effort.
“I think that, one through nine, we’re pretty dang good,” Elder said. “Anybody in our lineup can beat you, so I think there’s always that kind of peace of mind. You’re never out of it. As long as you keep it close, we’re always going to have a chance.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
3. Matt Olson entered Friday batting .178 over his last 25 games, with 34 strikeouts. He then played a major role in the win.
Olson led off the eighth inning with a solo blast to give the Braves some nice insurance.
And in the first inning, he hit the second of consecutive doubles off Miller, who had allowed only a run over 19 innings before this start.
And Ozuna, another player who was struggling, is beginning to produce more. He drove in three runs over the seventh and eighth innings.
4. In a one-run game in the sixth inning, Michael Harris II charged a line drive, caught it, collected himself and fired a 91-mph strike to home plate to nab a runner for an inning-ending double play.
In a tie game in the seventh, Ronald Acuña Jr. moved back on a deep fly ball, leaped at the wall and snagged it to save at least one run.
Both plays were huge, and they helped set the stage for another comeback win.
“We’re always going to give our best effort, whether we’re up or we’re down, and give ourselves an opportunity to win,” Orlando Arcia said through interpreter Franco García.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
5. Jesse Chavez will open Saturday’s bullpen game.
The Braves should have Michael Tonkin and Lucas Luetge as pitchers who can go multiple innings behind Chavez. The Braves used Collin McHugh (one inning), Nick Anderson (one) and Raisel Iglesias (one) in Friday’s win.
Elder’s efficiency and length put the Braves in a good spot for Saturday.
Stat to know
11-16 - The Braves are 11-16 in games this season in which they’ve trailed at any point, which is the sixth-best record in the majors and second-best in the National League.
Quotable
“They take it a day at a time. It gets old, but all we can control is today. They come out and they prepare, and you’re going to have to weather those storms. It’s part of it, is things not going your way or happening right. It happens more than once, most of the time.” - Snitker on the Braves returning to form after struggling last weekend
Up next
The Braves’ lineup will face Seattle righty Logan Gilbert in Saturday’s game, which begins at 7:15 p.m. on FOX.
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