The hottest and coldest teams in the major leagues opened a three-game series Tuesday at Turner Field, and the first-night results surely surprised a lot of folks around baseball.
Andrelton Simmons’ opposite-field single with one out in the ninth inning gave Atlanta a 3-2 walkoff win over the Toronto Blue Jays, snapping a 12-game home losing streak and bringing a dugout of Braves onto the field to mob Simmons on the basepath after he rounded first. The home skid was the longest by the franchise in more than a century.
“Hopefully it gets us some momentum and we can get some more (wins),” said Simmons, who lined a hit through the right side on the first pitch he saw from Aaron Sanchez. “It’s been a while since we had a walkoff. It was pretty exciting. For me, for sure. Guys were beating me up a little bit, so I think they were a little excited too.”
Adonis Garcia led off the ninth with an infield single, and pinch-runner Todd Cunningham hustled to advance to third base on A.J. Pierzynski’s single, the third hit of the night for the 38-year-old catcher. After pinch-runner Christian Bethancourt advanced to second on defensive indifference, the Braves had two in scoring position with none out.
Cameron Maybin’s groundout to second base didn’t get a run in, but Simmons’ hit did, giving the Braves their first home win since Aug. 24 and leaving the Blue Jays with consecutive losses for the first time in a month, since Aug. 14-15.
“We swung the bats well, got (10) hits, obviously that last one by Simmons was the big one,” said manager Fredi Gonzalez, whose Braves got their sixth walk-off win of the season and first since Aug. 16. “But the baserunning from Cunningham, going first to third there in the ninth inning, putting the winning run at third with no outs, was a big part.”
After batting .280 and averaging more than six runs during a 32-10 tear entering the series, including 53 runs and 83 hits in their previous eight games, the Blue Jays were held to two runs and five hits by Julio Teheran and five members of the Braves’ much-maligned bullpen, including four rookies.
The Braves are just 15-46 since July 7, including 8-40 in games not started by Teheran.
Teheran allowed five hits, two runs and four walks with seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, and didn’t look pleased walking off the field about being taken out when he gave up a two-out single and walk in the sixth. Rookie left-hander Andrew McKirahan induced a soft liner from pinch-hitter Chris Colabello to strand both runners and keep the score at 2-2.
McKirahan, Brandon Cunniff, Matt Marksberry, Peter Moylan and Arodys Vizcaino (3-1) combined for 3 1/3 hitless innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Moylan was the only non-rookie among the five.
“They did a great job today,” Teheran said. “We’ve got to give the credit to the bullpen today because they made the pitches we needed, just in time. I didn’t want to come out of the game, but that’s a decision I can’t complain (about).”
Teheran, who threw 113 pitches, got no decision to remain 5-3 with a 3.68 ERA in 14 starts since the beginning of July, including eight Braves wins. He’s allowed two runs or fewer in eight of those 14 games.
Justin Smoak led off the sixth inning with a game-tying home run, the 72nd homer for the slugging Blue Jays during a 43-game tear, and their 35th homer in 19 road games during that period.
Toronto had a majors-best 37-15 record since the All-Star break before Tuesday, and had built a three-game lead over the second-place Yankees in the American League East.
The Braves fell behind 1-0 in the second inning, but answered with a run in the bottom of the inning after a leadoff single from Garcia and a double by Pierzynski put two runners in scoring position with none out. After Nick Swisher struck out, Simmons’ groundout drove in the tying run.
Simmons grounded into double plays in each of his next two at-bats, including after Swisher’s leadoff walk in the seventh.
The Braves took the lead in the third after Nick Markakis doubled to start the inning. He advanced on a Daniel Castro sacrifice bunt and scored on an error when first baseman Smoak booted a Freddie Freeman grounder.
