The Braves left Kansas City with a win, loss and only one injury scare.
They won 10-2 on Wednesday, splitting the two-game series with the Royals that meant little for either team. The Braves’ bats broke through in the second contest, at least, to secure their first win over the Royals in four tries this season.
“I think it’s very important (to feel ‘right’ entering the postseason),” manager Brian Snitker said. “The mental part of it, the confidence level, all that. Tonight was a good step in the right direction. Especially to get a win over these guys. They’ve kind of had our number in three of the four games we played. It’s big to finish this weekend strong.”
Dansby Swanson, who had a career-high four hits, and Josh Donaldson, who drove in four, led the Braves to their 97th win. The team can still earn a 100-win campaign by sweeping the Mets in New York, but more on that later.
Mike Soroka was initially slated to start the game, but the Braves bumped him to Sunday. Instead Josh Tomlin, one of many unsung contributors for the 2019 National League East champs, got the call. Tomlin allowed one run over three innings in his first start since Sept. 27, 2018, with the Indians, also at Kauffman Stadium.
Sean Newcomb, Darren O’Day, Luke Jackson, Jerry Blevins, Shane Greene and Mark Melancon pitched in the game, combining to allow one run over six innings.
“That was a really good outing for (Tomlin) to get extended a little bit and it was exactly what we wanted to do with the bullpen too,” Snitker said. “So it was a good night.”
After scoring five runs across the fifth and sixth innings, then four in the eighth, the Braves produced the offensive burst they needed. Donaldson, whose bat had been far too quiet lately, laced three doubles and knocked in four runs.
“Nobody wants to feel bad going into the postseason, I know that,” Donaldson said. “Once the season’s over everything, all the numbers are cleared. It’s all about winning ballgames. You want to feel good going into the postseason but I’ve seen some guys throughout the years who’ve been cold going into the postseason and have monster postseasons. It’s one of those deals. Mentally, you always want to feel like you’re there.”
Swanson came up with a big bases-loaded knock to score the go-ahead runs in what was a 2-2 game in the sixth. Hitting leadoff in the absence of Ronald Acuna, Swanson had a much-needed strong day at the plate after the shortstop had sputtered since returning from the injured list due to a nicked-up heel.
The 25-year-old recorded his first RBI since Sept. 14, snapping a seven-game drought. It was his first multi-hit game since Sept. 2 and freed him of a 7-for-56 run. He credited hitting from the lead-off spot as giving him a jolt.
“It was good timing,” Swanson said. “Being able to see some balls fall, put some barrels on balls, things like that can obviously boost where you’re at. So there’s confidence to come from it, but somebody once told me ‘Anybody can do it once.’ So I just have to continue to work to get to where I need to be and continue to put my head down and do what I do, help us try to win some games.”
Before the game, the Braves revealed they’d shut down Acuna for the regular season because of a left groin strain suffered in Tuesday’s loss. At this point, the Braves could happily put everyone in bubble wrap and wait out the waning days of September. But that’s not how they’ll handle it.
They plan to play their regulars in New York, hoping to reach that 100-win mark. It would be the franchise’s first 100-win season since 2003; a possible achievement Snitker said would be “quite an accomplishment.” But Braves players will try not to focus too much on it.
“It’s a great number, everyone would love to strive to get to that,” Donaldson said. “At the same time, no matter what happens, we feel like we’ve had a really good year. We’re looking forward to performing.”
Swanson added: “You’d love to win every game possible, yeah. Getting to 100 is a milestone but it’s not the milestone. I don’t think anyone here is too concerned with getting to 100. It’d be cool but it’s not why we do what we do. We do it for bigger or better reasons than just hitting a certain (mark) with wins.”
The Braves traveled to New York after Wednesday’s game. They’re off Thursday before playing their final series of the regular season this weekend against the Mets. First baseman Freddie Freeman – and maybe outfielder Ender Inciarte – should be back in the lineup for Friday’s opener.
