Are the Braves fun again?
I think the Braves are fun again.
Either way, they’ve climbed back to one game shy of .500 — thanks to heroes sung and unsung.
Quick links: Braves 2, Reds 1 | Reviving the Falcons pass rush | Hockey in Alpharetta?
RUNNING TO VICTORY
Credit: Butch Dill/AP
Credit: Butch Dill/AP
Tuesday night was a night the Braves’ stars came through.
Chris Sale dazzled over 6⅔ scoreless innings, striking out 10 Reds. Marcell Ozuna plated the winning run with a 10th-inning walk-off single.
But Atlanta also got another reminder that it’s the other guys — the fill-ins, the afterthoughts — who have helped keep things afloat after that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad start to the season.
Example du jour: Stuart Fairchild is the outfielder the Braves picked up on the day Jurickson Profar’s PED suspension came down. Cincinnati traded him for “cash considerations,” which is a nice way of saying a bag of ball and two Crunchwrap Supremes.
He just helped win a game against his former team.
With the Braves down 1-0 in the ninth inning, catcher Sean Murphy walked. Fairchild (who has only appeared in 11 games this year, recording exactly one hit) came in to run for him.
Michael Harris II doubled to right field — and Fairchild hightailed it all the way around to score the tying run.
Barely.
Fairchild said this afterward: “I didn’t think I got a great jump just because I was trying to not get my head taken off by that hit by Michael, so I kind of froze for a split second. But once it got past me, I’m full speed ahead and at that point, it’s run as hard as you possibly can and pick up the third base coach. He sent me, so I went.”
⭐ Beat writer Justin Toscano took a deep dive into the dramatic — and gutsy — play. It’s a fascinating read.
⭐ So is Gabriel Burns’ look at five pleasant Braves surprises.
The latter, it should be noted, doesn’t include Fairchild. And rightfully so.
He’s got a long way to go to match the contributions of guys like Alex Verdugo, Nick “Suddenly the Starting Shortstop” Allen and Eli “Almost as Many Extra-Base Hits As Shohei Ohtani Since Joining the Lineup” White.
But the Braves will take the help — wherever, and whenever, they can get it.
Who’s your favorite off-the-radar guy that’s contributed for Atlanta this season? Let me hear it!
HOCKEY FIGHT!
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Don’t look now, folks, but the battle for an imaginary NHL team is heating up in the northern suburbs.
🙄 The city of Alpharetta just commissioned a study to look at the feasibility of building a hockey arena at North Point Mall.
As a former local government reporter, I can tell you there’s a 100% chance the study deems the project a winner for everyone involved. There might even be a hat trick reference!
🙄 But that doesn’t mean it’ll happen — in Alpharetta or down the road in Forsyth County, where a competing development group wants to build its own arena.
Among other things, the NHL hasn’t signaled any interest in expanding to the Atlanta area for a third time.
Why would they when they already have the Utah Mammoth?
ATTACK, ATTACK, ATTACK
Meet Nate Ollie, the Falcons’ new defensive line coach.
He’ll be helping Atlanta find a pass rush, when the team’s rookie minicamp starts Friday and beyond. As columnist Ken Sugiura reports, he’s got a history of maximizing pressure and improving sack totals.
😤 And this quote contains just about all you need to know about his approach: “Everything that we’re trying to do now, it’s like we’re trying to be like Mike Tyson and throw haymakers. We’re getting off the ball, attacking, throwing haymakers. No jabs. It’s all haymakers — that’s what we’re trying to do.”
NOTHING BUT A NUMBER
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
I love when people do what they love. So I love the idea of the Atlanta Senior Invitational, an annual tennis tournament that draws players from age 30 to 85-plus.
😄 And I really love this guy named Jimmy Parker, a top-ranked 82-year-old: “It’s fun to hang out with your tennis-playing buddies and spin the yarns and swap lies. As they say, the older we get, the better we were.”
The tournament runs today through Sunday at Buckhead’s Cherokee Town and Country Club.
QUICK HITS
🏀 The Atlanta Dream is playing the first of its two preseason games … right now, at 11:30 a.m. in Washington, D.C. You can stream right here.
🥳 The World Cup is about 13 months away. And the city of Decatur is already making party plans.
⚖️ A 20-year-old accused of killing Manchester High football player Brandon Smith in 2023 pleaded guilty and received a life sentence.
😮 Ava Kitchings, a long jumper from Greater Atlanta Christian, aims to rock the record book at this weekend’s state meet. (They’re jumping more than 20 feet in high school now!)
ALSO INTERESTING
👀 George Pickens, the antic-prone Steelers wide receiver (and former Georgia Bulldog), is apparently getting traded to the Cowboys.
📊 All four road teams won the opening game of their NBA conference semifinal series, which had never happened before.
👎 Sovereign, the Kentucky Derby winner, won’t run in the Preakness. Still has a dumb name, too.
CAPTION THIS
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Yesterday I asked you to send in captions for this photo of Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies (5-foot-7) and Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz (6-foot-5).
The winner, submitted by Sports Daily reader Penny, is above!
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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