The Atlanta Braves got an unexpected answer in the biggest moment Wednesday night, and it came from a bat that had been silent for nearly three months.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the winning run standing on second base, manager Walt Weiss went to Ha-Seong Kim to pinch-hit against Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott. Kim had been scuffling all season, carrying a .066 average with only five hits in 85 plate appearances. He also entered the at-bat in a brutal stretch, having gone 0-for-27 and not recording a major league hit since June 3 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
None of that mattered once the count reached 3-0.
Scott opened by missing with three straight four-seamers, then came back with a called strike one on a fastball. Kim fouled off the next heater to run the count full, then stayed alive on two more fouls before finally getting another fastball - Scott’s eighth straight - and lining a sharp single to left. Lane Thomas, the runner at second, raced home to finish off a 6-5 Braves walk-off win over the Dodgers.
The hit delivered a key series victory for Atlanta against the back-to-back champions and continued a late push in the National League standings. The Braves entered the series four games behind Los Angeles and have now cut that gap by two games over the last two nights, both through late-inning comebacks.
For Kim, it was a jolt of relief after a season hit hard by injuries. For the Braves, it was another reminder that the ninth inning can still produce the most unlikely hero.
Atlanta is now 78-55 and will go for the sweep Thursday in a matchup of aces, with Chris Sale set to face Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
In Other News...
Braves Fans May See Ronald Acuna Jrs Dodgers Mistake Differently Now
Ronald Acuna Jr.s recent series against the Los Angeles Dodgers was one of those stretches where every miscue seemed to get magnified, especially for a player who usually draws attention for the right reasons. The Braves right fielder also went through it at the plate, but the moment that stood out most came on defense, when a hesitation helped Shohei Ohtani move up to second base and left Atlanta searching for an explanation after the game.
Walt Weiss offered one, saying Acuna paused because first baseman Matt Olson was not covering first base, which created the kind of split-second confusion that can happen on a busy infield play. Weiss made clear the blame was not all on Acuna, a subtle but important distinction for a Braves team trying to sort out a rough sequence without turning one mistake into a bigger story than it needs to be. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Finally Cut Ties With A Left Field Mistake
Jurickson Profars time in Atlanta has already been defined as much by absences as by anything he has done on the field. Twice suspended under Major League Baseballs performance-enhancing drug policy, first for 80 games and then for an entire season after a second positive test, he has barely had a chance to become a steady part of the Braves plans, even though he is still attached to the roster on a contract that runs one more year.
Now the Braves are staring at a familiar offseason question in left field, and Profars name is suddenly at the center of it. The club needs more certainty in a spot that has not settled the way it hoped, and there is growing talk that Atlanta could simply move on rather than carry the baggage and uncertainty into another year. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Make A Telling Lineup Call On Ronald Acua Jr
Walt Weiss made a notable lineup shuffle Tuesday by sliding Ha-Seong Kim back into the Braves starting group for the first time since Aug. 7 and giving Ronald Acua Jr. a night out of the order. It was the kind of call that speaks to both the urgency of the stretch run and the need to reward a player who had just snapped out of a rough spell in dramatic fashion.
Acua has been trying to find his rhythm again since coming off the injured list, but the timing has not fully come back yet and the results have reflected it, with a .188 average over 28 games. Kim, meanwhile, turned a 0-for-27 slide into a walk-off moment in the previous game, and that was enough to earn another look while the Braves keep sorting out a lineup that still has to balance patience with production. [Read more 🡒]