If Evan Gattis keeps this up, the Braves might just want to dip the big rookie’s spikes in bronze and be done with it.
With the Braves down to their final out in the ninth inning, Gattis hit another dramatic, pinch-hit homer Tuesday night, a game-tying solo shot against the Twins to force extra innings at Turner Field. The Braves went on to win 5-4 on Freddie Freeman’s two-out single in the 10th, extending their winning streak to five games.
Gattis leads major league rookies with nine home runs, including three homers in six pinch-hit at-bats.
“He spent 3 years living in a van, I don’t think a baseball game is gonna faze him,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said, referring to Gattis’ colorful past, when he spent nearly four years out of baseball and did odd jobs at various stops throughout the western United States.
Jason Heyward doubled the left-center gap with two out in the 10th and Justin Upton was walked intentionally by left-hander Brian Duensing, before Freeman reached out for a full-count slider and turned it into a broken-bat single to shallow right field for the walk-off win.
“It wasn’t the prettiest swing,” Freeman said, “but it got it done.”
Gattis’ homer off left-hander Glen Perkins was the third homer in six at-bats as a pinch-hitter, including a game-winning two-run homer Saturday in the eighth inning against the Dodgers. Gattis leads major league rookies with nine homers and 23 RBIs in 118 at-bats.
“I was trying to hit the ball hard,” Gattis said. “I don’t try to hit home runs, but sometimes they just happen.”
Seven of Gattis’ homers have tied or given the Braves a lead, and four of those came in the eighth inning or later.
“It’s unbelievable what he’s doing,” Freeman said. “It’s almost like when I saw him walk up there, I knew we were going to be going a little longer tonight. Once he squats down in that box, it’s almost like you know it’s going to happen. To come off the bench and be a pinch-hitter, it’s a tough task. And to do what he’s been doing, it’s just … I don’t know how to explain it. It’s incomprehensible.”
Gattis homered on an 0-1 slider, a line-drive longball that drew a roar from those in a crowd of 28,663 who stuck around on a night when the game was again delayed more than an hour by rain.
“I knew he throws a lot of hard stuff in, and likes to live middle-in with the fastball and slider, likes to go back foot with the slider and likes to really bore in on guys,” Gattis said. “And he’s firm, he throws hard. So I was looking for something middle-in, and I just reacted to the off-speed stuff.”
The one-hour, 16-minute, delay in the third inning didn’t deter Tim Hudson, who returned to give the Braves nearly three more innings when that was crucial for Atlanta’s injury-plagued pitching staff. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs and five hits with five strikeouts.
“For him to wait an hour and 16 minute-delay and for him to give us five innings was a tremendous feat, but that’s the competitor that he is,” Gonzalez said.
Meanwhile, Brian McCann provided the home fans a taste of what he unveiled on the recent road trip — a sweet swing and power stroke rejuvenated by offseason shoulder surgery.
McCann had three hits including a leadoff homer in the fourth inning to put the Braves ahead, but the Twins rallied for two runs in the eighth to take a 4-3 lead.
After coming off the disabled list during the recent 10-game road trip and hitting three home runs in his first six games, McCann was 1-for-14 in his past five games until Tuesday. He had three hits in his first three at-bats and raised his average to .282, with four homers in 39 at-bats.
But Gattis stole headlines again with his thunderous bat and flair for the dramatic.
“He’s great, man,” Hudson said. “It’s been awesome to see. He’s a clutch hitter and people around the league are scatching their heads trying to figure out how to keep him from putting balls in the seats. It’s fun for us to watch.”
Hudson surprised many by returning to the mound. The Braves rarely bring a pitcher back after a delay of an hour or more, but the 37-year-old Hudson wanted to keep going and not stress the injury-riddled bullpen.
“It’s not ideal, obviously,” Hudson said of the rain delay, which was extended by nearly 20 minutes after a brief power outage knocked out the stadium lights. “But you’ve just got to keep your motor going. Every 20 minutes or so play some catch, move around, spin the bike a little bit. Just keep your motor going until they tell you it’s time to go.
“Our bullpen’s pretty thin right now, and we’ve got a day game tomorrow, quick turnaround (so he wanted to keep pitching). I probably threw about three or four innings during that delay. But as long as you keep your motor going, keep things moving, and the blood flowing in your arm every 15-20 minutes or so, then you’re fine.”
The Braves led 2-1 before the delay, and the Twins tied the score with consecutive singles by Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau immediately after play resumed. Hudson then retired the last eight batters he faced.
Young and relatively inexperienced Braves relievers have done good work filling in for injured veterans Eric O’Flaherty and Jordan Walden in the past week, but the Twins broke through in the eighth inning against rookie left-hander Luis Avilan. After Joe Mauer’s leadoff single, Josh Willingham walked.
One out later, sidearmer Cory Gearrin was brought in to face Trevor Plouffe, who got a goundball through the right side of the infield for a single to bring in the tying run. Ryan Doumit followed with another RBI single for a 4-3 lead.
Hudson had a 6.55 ERA in his past six starts before Tuesday, including an 11.42 ERA in two losses on the last road trip. He’s 1-3 with a 7.56 ERA in five road starts, but 3-0 with a 2.97 ERA in five home starts (no decision Tuesday).
While Hudson came back after the long delay, Twins starter Mike Pelfrey did not. The Braves probably wished he would’ve. The former Mets right-hander was 0-4 with a 7.23 ERA and .465 opponents’ average his past four starts against the Braves before Tuesday, when Pelfrey allowed four hits and two runs in two innings.
The Braves staked Hudson to a 2-0 lead on three hits in the first inning. Heyward singled and scored from first on Freddie Freeman’s two-out double to the right-center gap. McCann’s opposite-field single scored Freeman.
Shutdown innings after the Braves scored were a problem for Hudson on the road, and again Tuesday. He hit Justin Morneau with a pitch to start the second inning, and the Twins got singles from Doumit and Pedro Florimon (with two outs) to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Braves wasted a scoring opportunity in the second inning after a leadoff walk by Juan Francisco and B.J. Upton single put two on with none out. Hudson struck out on a fouled bunt attempt and Andrelton Simmons grounded into a double play.
