There is rarely a swing of emotions, from one end of the spectrum to another, like Braves fans experienced on Friday.
One moment, they erupted as Travis d’Arnaud launched a game-winning hit to beat the Diamondbacks 6-5 in 10 innings and win a home opener in walk-off fashion for the second straight year.
Twenty minutes later, Braves manager Brian Snitker delivered ominous news: Spencer Strider, the club’s ace, reported elbow discomfort after his start and will receive an MRI on Saturday.
Happiness and elation, then worry.
Five observations on Friday’s win:
1. For a moment, d’Arnaud watched his ball, which hit the wall in left field. He ran to first and Forrest Wall crossed home plate, and the Braves partied – just as they did after Orlando Arcia’s walk-off hit in last year’s home opener.
All of this – the comebacks, the ability to turn defeat into victory, the late-inning magic – is sewn into the fabric of this group. It’s part of the culture.
“Just believing in the guy behind you,” d’Arnaud said of how it’s built. “Our pitchers believe in our offense, our offense believes in our pitchers. I think that’s the biggest thing: We all have each other’s back and we’re all together.”
By now, you have probably come to expect these wins. But don’t take them for granted. They’re not aplenty for every club.
On Friday, the Braves fell behind by three runs early, then got within a run, then trailed by three again. They needed two runs in the ninth inning to tie this game.
They benefited from a D-backs error in the ninth inning. They can make you pay for any mistake, no matter how small.
The blunder allowed Austin Riley to reach. Matt Olson doubled him home. A couple batters later, Olson scored on Jarred Kelenic’s double in his first Truist Park at-bat in a Braves uniform.
The Braves have won these games all too often. Now, they expect to come out on top in these moments.
“I don’t think they ever feel like they’re out of a game,” Snitker said. “We’ve seen them down to a strike and can come back and win a game. It’s just kind of something they’ve been able to do for quite a while now, really.”
2. Now, for the scary part.
Snitker said Strider complained about elbow discomfort after he exited the game. Snitker didn’t have many details because he’d just finished the game. (Strider wasn’t at Truist Park after the game.)
“I just know he’s gonna have it checked out,” Snitker said. “He was kind of uncomfortable with how it was feeling, so they examined him here and they’re gonna get an MRI done (Saturday).”
Strider looked off all night. His velocity dropped, but depending on your view, you could’ve written it off as “one of those days.”
This start was not Strider-esque. Far from it.
Over four innings, the man who can be so dominant allowed five runs on seven hits. The strikeout maestro only punched out four batters, while walking three. The Diamondbacks patiently drove up his pitch count to 88 before his night ended.
His four-seam fastball averaged 95.9 mph – down from his 97.2 mph average last season. He threw one fastball at 93.8 mph. He topped out at 98.3 mph, but only hit 98 mph three times (if you round up two 97.5s).
When d’Arnaud spoke to reporters, he didn’t seem to know about Strider’s elbow. If he did, he didn’t say anything.
“Yeah, just command,” d’Arnaud said of what went wrong with Strider. “His ball was running more, and (he was) just leaving a couple balls over the middle. Just one of those days that happens over 162 games, and I’m sure he’ll be ready for the next one.”
The Braves can only hope they’re not without Strider for long.
3. As Kelenic watched his ball hang in the air, he couldn’t do anything but hope.
“I was praying (that) hopefully (it would land), like everyone else,” he said. “It was kind of hit in a weird spot.”
The shortstop went back. The left fielder charged in. They almost collided, but the left fielder pulled off a bit and the shortstop didn’t snag it, and the ball fell.
Tie game in the ninth.
On this night, Kelenic received his first taste of the mojo surrounding this team. And he contributed to it.
“You truly feel like we’re never out of it,” he said. “It’s just such a team environment in here, and I feel like we’re so dangerous on both sides of the ball. It’s a fun group to be around.”
Before his at-bat, a couple teammates called him over toward the dugout.
“They were just trying to hype me up,” Kelenic said. “It was a big moment. First at-bat here at Truist Park, I think they were just trying to make me feel welcomed. That’s the type of clubhouse that we have here, just all the guys just making everybody comfortable, and everybody just wants to have fun and play the game.”
4. In the 10th inning, Pierce Johnson was still available. (Yes, the Braves had used four relievers, and still had other capable ones for extra innings.) Johnson had the runner on second to start the inning, but it didn’t faze him.
“Honestly, just don’t worry about the runner on second, because you’re gonna have the same opportunity when your guys come up,” Johnson said of his mindset. “Just try and fill up the zone, get as much weak contact as possible and hopefully (get) swing and miss.”
Johnson held Arizona scoreless in the 10th.
In any comeback, the bullpen is usually key. It might not grab headlines, but it should be noted.
On Friday, Atlanta’s five relievers combined to toss six scoreless frames.
5. The 93.8 mph fastball was tied for the second-slowest four-seamer of Strider’s career. Last June, he threw a 93.5 mph four-seamer.
(He once threw a 90.8 mph fastball, but he fell off the mound, so that shouldn’t count.)
Stat to know
6 - Friday marked the sixth start of Strider’s career in which he’s allowed at least five runs over four or fewer innings. The last came on June 8, 2023, versus the Mets at Truist Park.
Quotable
“It’s cool. It’s great to hear the crowd light up like that. When you do it in that fashion, you’re gonna hear it.” - Olson on the Truist Park crowd of 41,426
Up next
On Saturday at 7:20 p.m., Max Fried will face Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt.
