Giving Brian McCann a scheduled day off, and during one of the hottest stretches of his career, might seem a complicated thing for a team trying to narrow the gap on the sizzling Phillies.
But not for the Braves and not with David Ross backing him up.
Ross did another good impression of McCann Saturday night with a clutch home run of his own — a grand slam at that — to lead the Braves to a 5-4 win over Baltimore.
On the eve of the day McCann is likely to be named starting catcher for the NL All-Stars for the first time in his career, he got a guilt-free day off.
“I see my name in there, I’m like ‘Hey, don’t screw this up,’” Ross said. “This guy is a stud and they’re putting you in there. ... I take a lot of pride in the day I play, trying to help the team win.”
The four runs on his swing were just enough to hold off the Orioles, who answered with three home runs of their own.
The Braves extended their winning streak to five games to remain four games behind the Phillies, who defeated the Blue Jays 5-3 on Saturday afternoon.
The Braves secured their seventh series victory in the past eight against Baltimore. The Braves are 10-4 in interleague play this year, with one last game to close it out Sunday against Baltimore.
Ross’ swing, and stellar defensive plays by Jordan Schafer and Freddie Freeman, helped Tim Hudson hold off the Orioles on a night they timed him pretty well. Or at least Mark Reynolds did. Reynolds launched a pair of home runs in the two pitches he saw from Hudson to supply the three runs in Hudson’s six innings and halt his scoreless streak at 17 innings.
Reynolds collected his 11th career multi-homer game, both on first-pitch offerings from Hudson (7-6). He put Baltimore up 2-0 with a two-run shot to center in the fourth inning, snapping the scoreless streak Hudson had over his previous two starts. He might have given Ross some ideas, too.
Ross had tried small ball on Reynolds first, dropping down a bunt in the third inning and drawing an errant throw from Reynolds to take second base. He advanced to third on a sacrifice and tried to score on a suicide squeeze. But Schafer failed to get the bat on the ball, and Ross was an easy out at home.
The next time around, Ross went bigger. With the bases loaded and the Braves having rallied for a run with two outs, Ross connected on a 1-1 fastball from Jake Arrieta. Ross hit his second career grand slam over the left-field fence.
“I love the guy,” Hudson said. “I love him like a brother. From our days back in Auburn, he had a knack for hitting big homers then. It’s happened so far here with us. It seems like he gets some big hits when we least expect it.”
It was Ross’ fourth home run of the season and first grand slam since Aug. 31, against the Mets. It was his first home run since hitting three in five at-bats against the Padres on April 26 and the Brewers on May 2.
Between his grand slam and watching Hudson stumble trying to throw a pitch in the first, Ross has got bragging rights the next time Hudson brings up the two-run homer he hit against Toronto.
“He better not talk about that home run because he’s going to hear about the sniper that got him from the upper deck,” Ross said, laughing. “I’ve never been more embarrassed for a teammate than when I saw him fall in front of a sold-out crowd on firework night.”
Hudson and the Braves needed every one of those five runs in the fourth inning. Chipper Jones started it with a double, and Dan Uggla prolonged it with a line-drive single to break up a streak of five consecutive strikeouts for him over the past two games.
Reynolds cut the Braves’ lead to 5-3 with his second homer in the sixth inning. Then Nick Markakis got in on the act with a solo shot off Scott Linebrink in the seventh.
“Had a three-run lead. I’m not going to dance around him at all,” Hudson said. “We had a little pissing contest and he beat me. What can you do? Tip your hat. He had a good night.”
Eric O’Flaherty gave the Braves four outs on a night they wanted to rest Jonny Venters. And Craig Kimbrel closed it out in the ninth with his 24th save to extend his NL rookie record for saves before the All-Star break.
Schafer channeled a little Willie Mays in the fifth inning, snaring an over-the-shoulder catch in center field with his back to the plate to rob J.J. Hardy. Freeman stabbed a liner by Luke Scott in the sixth.
