After seeing the Yankees score nine runs in the first two innings Friday, few could have expected that a wild pitch that let in one run in the first inning Saturday would prove so important.
But it was. Both that and a misplayed ball by center fielder Cameron Maybin proved costly for the Braves and rookie Matt Wisler, who pitched well but came away with another loss as the Yankees won again, 3-1, at Turner Field. The sellout crowd of 49,243 was the largest of the season in Atlanta.
The night took a tragic turn when a 60-year-old Alpharetta man died after falling from the upper-deck seats behind home plate to the concrete on the field-level seats below the press box. Gregory Murrey was pronounced dead at Grady Memorial Hospital.
Murrey, a fan, fell during the seventh inning, as Yankees pinch-hitter Alex Rodriguez was walking to the plate amid a chorus of boos.
“Huge condolences out to that family,” said Wisler, who had just come out of the game when the incident occurred. “We were all in the dugout paying more attention to that than the game when it first happened. That’s terribly sad to hear. We really hope for the best for that family. That’s sad to see something tragic like that happen at a game.”
The man landed close to seating sections used by families of the Braves and visiting players.
“One of the security guards radio’d that nobody (seated in the area) got hurt,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, interviewed before learning the man had died. “But still, they had to witness something that, from what I’m hearing from bits and pieces from other people, wasn’t very pretty. None of our (players’) families got hurt, other than there were some young children up there that had to see some stuff that was not real nice.”
The Yankees scored a run on a bases-loaded, two-out wild pitch by Wisler (5-5) in the first inning, and tacked on another run in the seventh after Chase Headley led off with a double on a fly ball to the warning track that got Maybin turned around at the last moment.
Didi Gregorius followed with a double through the right side of the infield that gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead and brought a pitching change for the Braves, with Matt Marksberry replacing his fellow rookie.
Wisler, who had been 0-3 with a 9.13 ERA and eight homers allowed in 22 2/3 innings during five previous August starts, rebounded with a strong outing, allowing four hits and two runs in six innings, with four walks and four strikeouts.
“Really great atmosphere tonight, great fan support,” Wisler said. “Knowing I’m facing the Yankees for the first time, it was pretty cool. Especially a lineup like theirs, with eight lefties. That’s been my Achilles heel all my career is facing lefties. So to go up there and have that many lefties and do what I did, I’m pretty happy with it.”
In front of a large and enthusiastic crowd, which included a big percentage of Yankees fans but also plenty of noisy Braves fans, Wisler came through with one of his best games.
“And I think that was a little bit of it, he was a little bit charged up in the first inning,” Gonzalez said. “But I tell you what, he settled down and he was good. He was really good. You can’t pick at anything he did. Actually you’ve got to give him some kudos on that first inning, how he got out of it after a 30-pitch inning (with only one run).
“We had some opportunities offensively, but that kid (Luis Severino) has got a pretty good arm. That’s what they’re supposed to look like, right there. We just didn’t get good swings at him when we had some people on base.”
Indeed, Wisler was good, but Yankees rookie Luis Severino was even better, allowing four hits and three walks in six scoreless innings. Wisler will be 23 in two weeks, and Severino won’t turn 22 until Feb. 20. He’s the youngest pitcher to start a game in the majors this season.
“The biggest thing I still need to work on is getting the ball down in the zone,” Wisler said. “A couple of balls were up in the zone today, it cost me in the seventh inning. Give credit to their guys, their pitcher went out there and threw very well today.”
The Braves got a run in the seventh before Freddie Freeman grounded out with two on to end the inning, and former Braves star Brian McCann’s RBI double in the eighth off Edwin Jackson pushed the lead back to two runs. The Braves also stranded two in the eighth when Andrelton Simmons struck out on a questionable called third strike that looked inside.
Losers of 11 of their past 12 games and four in a row, the Braves need a win in Sunday’s series finale to avoid being swept by a Yankees team that has fared extremely well in Atlanta over the years.
The Yankees are 16-2 all-time in Atlanta, including 5-0 in games played here during two World Series. The Braves have dropped all five regular-season interleague home series against the Yankees and lost seven consecutive games against them at Turner Field.
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a leadoff double by Jacoby Ellsbury and a pair of two-out walks. A bounced 0-2 pitch caromed off catcher Christian Bethancourt’s arm and scored Ellsbury before Wisler struck out Headley.
Wisler didn’t allow another runner to reach second base until the seventh inning. But the Braves couldn’t get the big hit when they needed it against Severino, pitching in just his fifth major league game but looking more like it was 50th.
Nick Markakis led off the Braves’ first inning with a single that extended his hitting streak to 10 games, and Freeman walked to put two on with one out before Nick Swisher grounded into an inning-ending double play.
The Braves also had two on in the fourth after Adonis Garcia doubled off the center-field wall and Jace Peterson walked. Severino struck out Bethancourt on three pitches to end that threat.
After Severino left the game, the Braves scraped together a run in the seventh following consecutive singles by Bethancourt and Andrelton Simmons to start the inning. Pinch-hitter Jonny Gomes followed with a fielder’s choice grounder and potential double play, but Wilson failed to catch the relay throw to first base and Bethancourt scored on the error to cut the lead to 2-1.
One out later, Dellin Betances replaced Wilson and walked Maybin, after pinch-runner Michael Bourn stole second base. Freeman hit a comebacker to Betances to end the inning.
