The Braves came up just short in the Bronx on Saturday, dropping a tight one to the Yankees in a game that had plenty of swings but ended with Atlanta staring at a series loss.
It started as the kind of matchup that had pitching fans locked in from the first pitch: Chris Sale against Gerrit Cole. Sale was the first to crack, giving up a run in the second on a double and a single even while his fastball sat in the upper 90s. After that, both starters settled in for a stretch, and Atlanta eventually found its opening in the fifth.
That inning gave the Braves their best push of the afternoon. Doubles from Dubon and Yaz set the table, and singles from Riley and Jarvis brought home two runs for a 2-1 Atlanta lead. Acuna then lined one that almost cleared the bases for two more, but the ball was caught for an out instead.
The lead didn’t last. An ABS strikeout that turned into a walk, then a triple, pulled the Yankees even in the bottom of the inning.
Sale got the next batter to strike out, but then came the balk that pushed New York ahead. Walt Weiss stepped in while Sale was heated with the umpire and got himself ejected, which likely spared Sale from the same fate.
The inning kept getting messy from there, with Sale allowing a double and a walk before a double play finally stopped the damage. He headed to the dugout clearly frustrated, but Atlanta had kept the deficit to one.
Sale was done after six innings, allowing three runs with eight strikeouts and two walks. Cole stayed in the game and shut down the Braves again in the seventh, while the Yankees added another wrinkle when Mederos came out of the Atlanta bullpen and gave up a short-porch homer to open the frame. He also walked a batter and hit the next one before striking out the final two hitters to finish the inning.
Atlanta got a jolt in the eighth when Ronald Acuna crushed a solo homer off the Yankees’ bullpen on a full count after a long at-bat. That cut into the margin, but the Braves still had work to do.
Michael Harris reached with two outs, which brought a pitching change designed to keep Ozzie from batting right-handed. Ozzie battled through a few pitches on a 2-2 count before grounding out, leaving Atlanta with three outs and still down a run.
The ninth brought more drama, and then more frustration. Danny Young allowed a solo shot to dead center to open the inning, a swing that made his spot on the roster look even more questionable.
Even so, he somehow finished by striking out the side, with a single and a walk mixed in. Yaz walked to put the tying run on base with one out for the 8 and 9 spots.
Riley struck out, but Dominic Smith followed with a ground-ball single up the middle to bring Yaz home after Yaz moved to second on defensive indifference.
That put Drake Baldwin in the box as the winning run. He had trouble with Bednar’s splitter and ended the game with a soft lineout to right field.
So the Braves head into Sunday with a series loss already in hand, and a tough one waiting next. Grant Holmes is set to face Cam Schlittler as Atlanta tries to avoid the sweep at 1:35 PM ET.
In Other News...
Braves Roster Crunch Could Push Out Familiar Names Before Seasons End
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Young is in the most obvious spot of jeopardy among the group because the Braves have not gotten the kind of relief work they were hoping for. His numbers have drifted the wrong way, and a pitching staff that needs dependable innings cannot afford too many soft spots for long. Atlanta has no obligation to make a quick move, but with the season winding down and roster spots at a premium, the pressure is building on players like these to hold their ground before the team decides it has easier options elsewhere. [Read more 🡒]
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Uberstine has already reached the big leagues once with Boston, and his path has gotten more interesting this season thanks to a noticeable uptick in velocity and better results across three different Minor League stops. For a Braves pitching pipeline that is always worth tracking, he is the kind of arm who can quickly go from a transaction footnote to a name fans keep checking back on. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Were Deeper In The Ace Market Than Fans Realized
Tarik Skubals move from Detroit to the Dodgers gave the pitching market the jolt it had been waiting for, and it also confirmed just how many clubs were circling one of the winters biggest arms. The Tigers pushed the deal forward amid uncertainty over George Kirbys availability, only for Kirby to stay put with the Mariners, while teams including the Brewers, Yankees, Rays, Braves and Cubs all spent time in the mix before Los Angeles landed the left-hander.
For Atlanta, the takeaway is less about the final destination and more about how aggressively the Braves were willing to chase a top-end starter. They were not merely on the fringe of the conversation, and their involvement says plenty about how determined the front office was to fortify the rotation, even if the market ultimately broke in another direction. [Read more 🡒]