The Braves spent most of Friday night doing just enough, then finally cashing in when it mattered.
Atlanta beat the Reds 3-2 in 10 innings at Truist Park, getting the walk-off run when Mauricio Dubón chopped an infield single that brought home Manfred Man DaShawn Keirsey. It wasn’t pretty, and it didn’t need to be. With the Braves already sitting on win No. 93, the result was the point.
Chris Sale gave Atlanta exactly the kind of tuneup it wanted. He was tagged on the fifth pitch of the night, when rookie right fielder Juan Brito turned around a belly-high 97-mph fastball and sent it over the center-field fence for a 1-0 Reds lead.
After that, though, Sale settled in and looked sharp. His slider gave Elly De La Cruz and Sal Stewart all kinds of problems, and he kept stacking up strikeouts while mixing in high heat that the Reds couldn’t handle.
By the time Sale punched out Stewart for the third time in the sixth, he had reached 200 strikeouts for the season. He finished with 5.2 innings, one earned run, four hits, 10 strikeouts and no walks on 97 pitches.
The only real blemish was the Brito homer. Otherwise, he looked like himself.
Cincinnati starter Andrew Abbott kept the Braves quiet for most of the night with a mix of low-velocity fastballs, changeups, sweepers and curves. Atlanta had only three hits through five innings: a bloop double from Matt Olson, a single from Austin Riley and a Dubón infield hit. The Braves also had a walk, but Brewer Hicklen was picked off first after that.
Olson finally broke through in the sixth, hammering Abbott’s high sweeper over the center-field fence for his 41st home run and tying the game 1-1.
The Reds answered quickly against Robert Suarez. Matt McLain tripled off the right-field bricks on Suarez’s first pitch back from the injured list, then later scored on a Will Banfield sacrifice fly to right. That made it 2-1 Cincinnati.
Riley bailed Atlanta out in the seventh. After entering the night with a line that included .220/.292/.359 and 193 strikeouts, he led off the inning by launching Abbott’s 91-mph fastball just over the center-field fence to even things at 2-2.
The bullpen handled the rest from there. Dylan Lee worked a perfect eighth, Raisel Iglesias threw a perfect ninth and struck out the side, and Brent Suter fired a perfect 10th, including a strikeout of Oswaldo Cabrera on a changeup.
That set up the bottom of the 10th against Luis Mey. H.S.
Kim bunted Keirsey to third, Mey hit Drake on the foot, and Dubón came through with the winning chop into the infield. Keirsey scored, and the Braves walked it off 3-2.
Tomorrow night, the Braves go for the series win with Tyler Mahle facing Reds right-hander Brady Singer.
In Other News...
Ronald Acuna Jr. Just Gave The Braves Their Biggest Playoff Fear
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Ronald Acua Jr. Just Put Atlantas Playoff Hopes On Edge
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Now the Braves are waiting again after Acua had to leave a game when he fouled a ball off his leg, and there has not yet been an update on how serious it is. For a team already balancing October preparation with the need to keep its best players on the field, his availability has suddenly become one of the most important questions hanging over the roster. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Playoff Roster Could Include Some Very Unexpected Names
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Joe Jimnez, Chuckie Robinson, Maverick Handley, Patrick Clohisy and Tyler Uberstine are all part of that unusual mix of possibilities. Their cases underscore how flexible postseason roster construction can become when health and matchups are in play, and how quickly a team can look beyond the familiar depth chart once October arrives. The Braves still have decisions to make, and the final group could include at least one unexpected addition. [Read more 🡒]