The Braves were collecting key hits against the Red Sox on Wednesday at Turner Field. It didn’t matter that, one foot this or that way, and they could have been outs.
Pedro Ciriaco had two game-tying RBI hits that went just beyond the reach of Red Sox defenders. Rookie Daniel Castro hit a slow-rolling ball to the infield space created when Cameron Maybin ran on the pitch, and Maybin scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning when shortstop Nick Markakis slipped a ground ball past shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
This is how it goes for the Braves, who often must squeeze runs across the plate rather than smash balls around the ballpark. Get enough good pitching, like they did from starter Alex Wood and the bullpen on Wednesday, and it’s enough to win.
The Braves beat the Red Sox 5-2 with the kind of small-ball offensive approach necessitated by their lack of power. Just two of their 10 hits against the Red Sox went for extra bases — and one of those, Ciriaco’s run-scoring double in the fourth inning, was a flared hit that landed in shallow right field.
“We battled offensively,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “We scratched and clawed for every single run.”
Wood allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) with seven strikeouts and two walks over six innings. Braves relief pitchers Nick Masset (2-1), Jim Johnson and Jason Grilli held the Red Sox scoreless over the final three innings.
Ciriaco was 3-for-4 with game-tying RBIs in the fourth and sixth innings. The Braves went ahead for good in the seventh by hitting the ball smart rather than hard.
Maybin led off with a single against relief pitcher Junichi Tazawa (0-3). Castro, making his big-league debut, followed with a pinch-hit single on the hit-and-run.
“He got his first hit in his first at-bat and experienced his first ‘W,’” Gonzalez said. “It’s going to be a good night for him.”
Markakis followed with the ground ball single to score Maybin. The Braves added another run when Red Sox pitcher Trevor Layne walked catcher A.J. Pierzynski with the bases loaded.
Wood worked through a jam in the second inning when he struck out Blake Swihart and retired pitcher Joe Kelly on a ground out to leave runners at second and third. His defense let him down in the fourth.
Hanley Ramirez led off with a single and Pablo Sandoval hit a potential double-play ball directly to third baseman Juan Uribe. But the ball shot through Uribe’s legs and into the outfield.
Wood retired the next two batters before walking Swihart to load the bases. He appeared to get out the jam when Kelly hit a slow ground ball to second baseman Jace Peterson, but Peterson nonchalantly fielded the ball and took too much time to throw to first baseman Freddie Freeman.
Kelly was safe and the base hit scored Ramirez as Wood put his glove hand over his head in disbelief.
“I think (Kelly) lulled him to sleep a little bit,” Gonzalez said of Peterson. “I’m sure that won’t happen again with ‘Petey.’”
The Braves erased the deficit in the bottom of the inning with Ciriaco’s two-out, RBI double to shallow right field. The Red Sox regained the lead on Mike Napoli’s solo home run in the sixth off Woods but the Braves once again came back to forge a tie in the bottom of the inning on Ciriaco’s RBI single.
“When we lose, it’s always (because) the other team has got to do everything in their power to beat us,” Wood said. “Every single guy from start to finish, it’s a battle and a grind the whole night. Any time (opponents) let up or have a moment of weakness, we’ve been capitalizing. It’s really fun to watch and really fun to be a part of.”
