Donning the uniform of the team from his home state, local kid Travis Demeritte starred in front of eight family members, and a ton of home fans, as the Braves defeated the Cubs, 3-1, on Tuesday at Truist Park.
Here are five observations on the Braves (8-10) after the win:
1. As Demeritte headed toward the batter’s box in the fifth inning, a fan in the first row behind home plate had a request. The woman told him this was her first Braves game, and that she wanted him to hit a home run.
“We might have to wait on that one,” he told her. “I need to get a few more at-bats under my belt.”
No, she told him. She had faith he could homer right then and there.
And sure enough, Demeritte took Marcus Stroman’s first pitch and put it over the right-field wall for an opposite-field home run. The Winder native’s blast gave the Braves a 2-1 lead.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
“One of those skinny pop guys where he might not look it, but he hits the ball and it’s just as far as everyone else,” said starter Max Fried, who played with Demeritte in the minors around five years ago.
And even before the homer, Demeritte, who played right field, made a beautiful sliding catch in foul territory to end the top of the fourth, which drew a salute from Fried.
2. On opening night, Fried allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings (though it appeared he pitched better than the line indicated).
In 18 1/3 frames since that start, he has surrendered only three earned runs.
He threw six innings of one-run baseball versus the Cubs. Ian Happ’s third-inning solo homer, the lone run off Fried, snapped the lefty’s streak of 47 consecutive innings without allowing a home run.
“Definitely felt like I was trying to find it at times, felt like I was trying to get some rhythm back,” Fried said.
Regardless, he kept the Cubs in check. He is looking like a true No. 1 starter, someone on whom the Braves can rely every fifth day.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
3. It remains to be seen who will fill Eddie Rosario’s role moving forward, but Demeritte is making a great case.
“This is what this stuff’s all about,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “When you see a guy like that that’s went through all the different adversities that he’s had to in his career, and kind of hang in there and continue to allow yourself to get better and figure things out. That was really a special game for him.”
Demeritte was in the Braves’ organization until the club included him in the 2019 Shane Greene trade. He then played for Detroit in 2019 and 2020. The Braves claimed him off waivers in 2021.
He wondered if he would ever make it back to the majors..
“This is a tough game to play here,” Demeritte said. “It’s even harder to make it up here to the major leagues. It definitely did play in my mind a little bit, but my thought process along the way was the same as coming up: Just continue playing hard and doing what I can do, controlling what I can control, and everything else will fall into place.”
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
4. Cubs center fielder Michael Hermosillo had quite the game.
In the fifth inning, he missed a ball that bounced right to him, which allowed Dansby Swanson to score and Ozzie Albies to reach third.
Hermosillo then made two catches -- one to end the fifth, the other in the sixth -- that were both much tougher plays than the one on which he committed an error.
And in the eighth inning, Hermosillo thought a rocket to the gap would land, so he took off from first and even rounded second ... only to realize Adam Duvall caught it. Hermosillo tried his best to race back to first, but the Braves doubled him off to end the inning, an important play as Tyler Matzek worked to preserve a two-run lead.
5. Fried struck out four Cubs in his latest start. Three came on his curveball.
“Curveball has felt pretty good the last couple games,” Fried said. “Feel like it’s coming back around. It was a pitch I relied on tonight to get out of some jams.”
Stat to know
32 - Before blasting a homer in the win, Demeritte went 32 games without a home run. He had last hit one on Sept. 12, 2019, while playing for the Tigers.
Quotable
“Definitely has been a long route here, but that felt great. To be able put this uniform on and play in front of my family and friends, in the state that I grew up in, it’s almost scripted, man. It felt a little too good to be true.”-Demeritte on his journey
Up next
In Wednesday’s game, Braves right-hander Charlie Morton will face Cubs righty Mark Leiter Jr.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
