Tag: freddie freeman

My Thoughts on Braves vs Dodgers Series:

Coming into this series, I knew it was going to be an emotional one for Braves country and for Freddie Freeman. Freddie made his first appearance to Truist Park this year… but in a Dodgers uniform. He was presented with a very touching video to express Atlanta’s appreciation for him, and then he was given his World Series ring. I’ve always known Freddie was an emotional person, but I wasn’t truly aware how emotional he was. During his pre-game interviews he couldn’t contain the sobs, and walking onto the field to get his ring he was red and shaking from emotion.

Although the Braves did not win the series, it was honestly nice to get it over with. And the atmosphere of the games were very much like the postseason. It was definitely a glimpse into the 2022 Postseason if you ask me. šŸ˜‰

The Atlanta Braves played good ballgames throughout this entire series, but in their losses, leaving runners on base was ultimately their downfall.

In game one, the L.A. Dodgers started off with a bang, scoring two runs in the first against Ian Anderson, and then scoring two more in the fifth. The Braves were unable to score more than one run in a bases loaded situation in the bottom of the sixth. Looking back on this loss, the sixth inning was where the Braves should have scored. They had a great opportunity but were just unable to take advantage of it.

Game two was exciting! The Braves started out scoring early, giving Max Fried a 3-0 lead after five innings. However, Fried got into trouble in the seventh allowing two Dodger runners to score making it a 3-2 game. And then, in the eighth inning, A.J. Minter gave up the tying run on a homer by L.A.’s catcher Will Smith making it a 3-3 game. That tied game didn’t last long though! In the bottom of the eighth inning, Travis d’Arnaud led off the inning with a double, and then Marcell Ozuna followed him with a gigantic home run, making it a 5-3 game. That was all the Braves needed to hold onto the lead and win game two.

It was really nice to see Ozuna get the big home run in game two. He has been seriously slumping at the plate…but hopefully he is coming out of this slump and will provide some pop in the Atlanta lineup.

Game three was frustrating and honestly disappointing. The Braves should have won. Atlanta faced the Dodger’s best pitcher; Tony Gonsolin who came into this game 9-0 on the year. He left the series without a blemish on his record. The Braves were able to score one run on Gonsolin in the sixth and another against Alex Vesia in the seventh. Then, in the ninth inning, the Dodgers tied the game 2-2 against former Dodger, Kenley Jansen. The game went into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Freddie Freeman had an RBI double down the right field line to give L.A. a 3-2 lead. But, in the bottom of that inning, Matt Olson had an RBI single down the right field line to tie the game back up at 3 apiece.

Darren O’Day pitched the eleventh for Atlanta and he did not do well. He gave up two runs and was not able to finish the inning. The Braves lost that game with final score of Dodgers 5, Braves 3.

—

Not only were there some rollercoaster type games in this series, but it was an emotional rollercoaster for Freddie Freeman and Braves Country. Freddie Freeman may no longer be an Atlanta Brave, but he will never be forgotten. Now, the Braves have a new (and very good) first baseman in Matt Olson. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the season plays out for the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angelas Dodgers, but I think it’s safe for both teams to say, “See you in October!”

GO BRAVES!

Braves Advance to NLCS!

Wow. What a series against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves!! This series was nothing short of amazing. Pitching was great from both teams, offense was hard to come by for the first three games, and then in game four, the Braves won the series and have advanced. And what’s a better way to do it than at your home park with your fans cheering you on??

NLDS Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Corbin Burnes, Braves lost 2-1

This game was a serious pitching duel. In fact, this whole series was a low scoring, pitchers duel. Charlie Morton pitched phenomenal for the Braves. Morton pitched six innings, allowed three hits, gave up two hits, had nine strikeouts and only one walk. He pitched into the seventh inning, and that is where he gave up the two runs that the Brewers scored. They came on a two-run homer by Rowdy Tellez to give them a 2-0 lead. Those two runs were enough to allow Milwaukee to win.

Atlanta got one run on the board in the top of the eighth inning. Joc Pederson came on to pinch-hit. He hit a solo home run to left-center, to make it a 2-1 game. However, that was the only run that the Braves could produce and the Brewers took game one.

Now, the Atlanta Braves had a chance to score in the top of the first inning. They had runners on first and third with no outs. Ozzie Albies was up to bat, and he hit into an unfortunate double play. Brewers first baseman Rowdy Tellez (who later hit the game winning home run) caught a sinking line drive up the foul line to rob Ozzie of at least a single, and then completed the double play with a strong throw to home plate to get Jorge Soler out.

That double play set the tone of the whole game. Both teams knew runs were going to be hard to come by, and that missed run scoring opportunity for Atlanta came back to haunt them when they only lost by one run.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Brandon Woodruff, Braves won 3-0

With Max Fried on the mound for Atlanta, you are pretty much guaranteed for a good, strong outing. He did not disappoint. Fried pitched six scoreless innings, allowed three hits, zero walks, and struck out nine. Fried only had 81 pitches through his six innings, I was surprised that Brian Snitker did not bring him back out for the seventh inning. But everything worked out in the end.

The Braves came up with a total of three runs. In the top of the third inning, Jorge Soler reached base with a double. Freddie Freeman scored Soler with an RBI single to make it 1-0. To make it a 2-0 lead, Ozzie Albies hit a booming double off the top of right field wall. Getting a good read off the ball, Freeman scored easily. What turned out to be a double, was almost a home run. Albies’ double hit right off the top of the yellow line. But it went back into the field of play, therefore it was not a home run.

In the top of the sixth inning, Austin Riley hit a towering solo home run to make it a 3-0 game. He sent that baseball a long way into straight away center field. That man has some power!

Atlanta’s bullpen was lights out for the rest of the game and backed up Fried’s great outing. This win for the Braves tied the series 1-1.

Game Three: Ian Anderson vs. Freddy Peralta, Braves won 3-0

Ian Anderson took the mound for Atlanta in this game. He pitched five innings, allowed three hits, zero runs, zero walks, and he had six strikeouts. Anderson had a good outing, and he is proving time and time again what a good pitcher he his. Ian could have gone another inning, but he had 84 pitches and, like with Fried, Brian Snitker played it safe and only let him go five innings. And, he gave us a quality start — in a game like this one, that was all that mattered.

Like in game one, the Braves had a good chance of scoring early. In the bottom of the second inning, the Braves had runners on first and second with one out. Austin Riley was on third and Adam Duvall was the runner on first. Travis d’Arnaud was up to bat and he flew out to left field. His fly out was plenty deep enough to score Riley from third so he tagged up. Riley was halfway down the third base line when Duvall decided (on his own) to try and advance to second. Brewers’ left fielder, Christian Yelich saw what Duvall was trying to do, threw to second base, and got Adam Duvall out. That was a huge blow to Atlanta early and it shifted the mood of the game.

Like Atlanta, the Brewers had chances to score but couldn’t pull the trigger. In the top of the fifth inning, Milwaukee had second and third and no one out. They got into a run down between third and home, and then couldn’t come up with any way to score.

Joc Pederson came on to pinch hit for Ian Anderson in the bottom of the fifth. With no one out, Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud were on base. After a questionable strike two call to give Pederson a 1-2 count, Joc hit an elevated fastball and it left the ballpark in a hurry. His three-run homer went into the Chop House and gave Atlanta a huge 3-0 lead.

Those three runs from Pederson’s home run were all that the Braves’ pitching staff needed. The bullpen was lights out and preserved a 3-0 lead. That gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead in the series.

Game Four: Charlie Morton vs. Erik Lauer, Braves won 5-4

This game was awesome. It was a rollercoaster, though. Scoring was ALL over the place. At some points int the game, when things started looking good for the Braves, the Brewers would come back and take the lead. However, in the end, it was our Atlanta Braves who held on and won, advancing to the NLCS.

Charlie Morton started this game for Atlanta. With him starting on only three days rest, we knew he wasn’t going to go more than five innings. Morton went 3.1 innings, allowed four hits, two runs, one walk, and had five strikeouts. Coming into this, we knew that Charlie was not going to have his best stuff coming off of only three days rest, and there was the chance that Milwaukee’s hitters would see his pitches better since they saw him just three days before. All of this coming into play, Morton did not do a bad job at all, he kept the scoring low, and kept his team in this game.

Coming into the bottom of the fourth inning, the Braves were down 2-0. The Brewers had scored two off of Charlie Morton via two RBI singles. Atlanta, however, did not let that hinder their determination. To lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, Austin Riley had a single. Adam Duvall and Joc Pederson followed him with pop-outs to make two quick outs. Travis d’Arnaud kept the inning alive with a walk, and then Guillermo Heredia was hit by a pitch to load the bases. In this situation, the Braves had a great chance to score…it was just a matter of being able to do it. And they did just that! Eddie Rosario was up to bat. After getting two quick strikes, Rosario hit a line drive single into center field that allowed two runners to score, and tied the game 2-2.

Huascar Ynoa came onto pitch the fifth inning for Atlanta. He started the inning with a single to Christian Yelich, and got a strikeout to make the first out of the inning. Then, he gave up a mammoth two-run home run to Rowdy Tellez, giving the Brewers are 4-2 lead. That home run changed the ENTIRE atmosphere of the ballpark quick. The fans went from being excited because the game was tied, to dead silent because their team was all of a sudden losing again.

Down 2-0 the Braves had to come up with some offense. To start off the bottom of the fifth inning, Freddie Freeman struck out. Ozzie Albies reached base after him on a infield single. Austin Riley walked and then, Adam Duvall was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Joc Pederson grounded into an RBI forceout that allowed Ozzie to score from third, making it a 4-3 game. And then, to tie the game, Travis d’Arnaud had an RBI single that scored Austin Riley and made it a 4-4 game. Once again, the Braves’ fans had something to cheer about!

With the game still tied in the eighth inning, the Milwaukee Brewers decided to bring on their closer Josh Hader. Hader is normally the Brewers closer. I’m not entirely sure why they brought him on to pitch the eighth instead of the ninth inning, but I’m not complaining! šŸ˜‰ After Hader got two quick outs of Eddie Rosario and Dansby Swanson, Freddie Freeman was up to bat. Freddie wasted no time. On the very first pitch he saw, Freddie hit a solo home run to center field giving the Braves a 5-4 lead.

Immediately after that home run was hit, the entire vibe of the ballpark shifted. The fans were louder than ever, Atlanta’s dugout was ecstatic, and Freddie Freeman, who normally doesn’t show much emotion, was shouting with all of them. His home run was just enough for the Atlanta Braves’ closer, Will Smith, to get the last three outs of the game, record the win, and send the Braves to the NLCS!

—

This series was nothing short of what you would want a postseason series to be like. It was entertaining, stressful, and for the most part, well played. So many things took place to make the Braves win the series, but these are the top three things for me:

  • Pitching:

Not only was the starting pitching in this series great for Atlanta…but so was the bullpen. The Braves’ bullpen throughout this entire series was lights out. Yes, the relievers would give up a hit here and there, but they did not allow a SINGLE Brewers runner to score. Now that is impressive!

  • Joc Pederson’s game three home run:

Joc Pederson is one cool player. Not only is he rocking his pearl necklace, but he can hit. In pinch-hitting appearances for the Atlanta Braves in this series, Joc was 3-3. Plus, two of those hits were home runs…one of which won game three for the Braves. That is crazy! Having the kind of depth that Pederson has shown he can bring off the bench is huge for Atlanta. Not only is it important in the regular season to have a good pinch-hitter, it is even more important in a postseason game, when at any point you could face elimination.

  • Freddie Freeman’s Home Run:

Obviously this was a huge moment in this series. Coming into a tied ballgame, against one of the best closers in baseball, and hitting the game winning home run is definitely a huge moment. Freddie Freeman’s home run against Josh Hader just continues to prove the resilience of the Braves’ team. After they lost AcuƱa, got the news that Soroka wasn’t going to be able to pitch this year, and losing Marcell Ozuna to legal matters…things did not look good for Atlanta. But did they give up? Absolutely not! They played even better, harder baseball and you could tell there was a purpose behind it. And it took the WHOLE team to do it. Not just two or three players, no. Every single player on the Atlanta Braves’ roster came through in some way or another, and they couldn’t be here with ought them.

And now, they are going into the NLCS with their heads held high and their eyes on the prize. That prize being a 2021 World Series title.

Go Braves!

Braves vs. Pirates Series Wrap

Well, I think it’s safe to say, this series did not go anything like we expected – or how it should have gone. The Braves lost the first two games, and won the third. If they had swept the Pittsburg Pirates they would have had a winning record. Atlanta now has to win two games against the Marlins to have a 44-44 record, or if they sweep the Fish, they will have a winning record going into the All-Star break.

Game One: Max Fried vs. Chase De Jong, Braves lost 11-1

Max Fried did not have is best outing. I mean he did hit a walk-off the day before, but still. He pitched five innings, allowed seven hits, six runs, two walks, and he had five strikeouts. The first four innings he pitched weren’t bad, he just ran into trouble in the fifth and couldn’t get himself out of it.

Fried’s underwhelming outing left the rest of game one in the hands of Atlanta’s shaky bullpen. Josh Tomlin came out of the bullpen for the Braves in the seventh inning and gave up five more runs to give the Pirates a grand total of eleven runs. Tomlin has not had that great of a season so far for Atlanta. Normally he is lights-out and can go multiple innings, but this year he is having trouble completing one inning without giving up a least one run.

The Braves did score one run – they actually scored it in the top of the first inning! Ronald AcuƱa Jr. lead off the game with a single, and then Freddie Freeman drove him in with a double. The Pirates right fielder, Phillip Evans, couldn’t pick up the baseball and make the throw to attempt to keep AcuƱa from scoring. I’m not entirely sure if AcuƱa would have scored if Evans hadn’t made an error – but we’ll never know.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Chad Kuhl, Braves lost 2-1

Ian Anderson did not pitch a bad game at all. He only went five innings, but he had a high pitch count of 91 pitches – so I’m assuming that’s why Snitker took him out. In those five innings he pitched, he gave up five hits, one run, three walks, and had four strikeouts. So, overall, it really wasn’t a bad outing; he just threw a lot of pitches.

The Braves scored their one and only run in the top of the fifth inning on a solo home run by our left fielder, Orlando Arcia. He hit that baseball a long way into the seats in left center field, getting the Braves on the board.

Up till the ninth inning, Atlanta’s pitching was great. Both the starting pitcher and the relief pitchers were able to keep it a tie game at 1-1.

However, it’s baseball. And someone is bound to win one way or another. In the bottom ninth inning, Tyler Maztek was sent onto the mound for the Braves to send them into extra innings. That did NOT happen. Maztek walked the first batter he faced, gave up a single to the next, and another walk to load the bases with Pirates. There was no one out. At this point you knew that Pittsburg was going to win, and sure enough they did. With a four pitch, bases-loaded walk, to Bryan Reynolds the Pirates won the game 2-1. Out of all the ways that the Braves could have allowed the Pirates to walk it off, a bases-loaded walk is the worst. They didn’t even have to work for their win. All they had to do was stand at the plate, with a bat in their hands, and watch the balls go into the dirt.

Game Three: Drew Smyly vs. Wil Crowe, Braves won 14-3

Finally. The Braves won, and they beat out some anger against the Pirates. All throughout this 2021 season, the Braves haven’t clicked on all cylinders. Some days pitching is great and the offense isn’t – or vise versa. In this game, the pitching AND the offense were great for Atlanta, and the result of that was even better: a Braves win! One thing to note before we dive into this Braves win – Ozzie Albies was taken out of this game after popping out in the top of the fifth inning. Nothing is seriously wrong with him, (thank goodness!). Brian Snitker took him out of the game as a precaution because he was dealing with neck tightness. Obviously, knowing the type of player my Ozzie is, he did not want to be taken out of that game. But, in the end, he was taken out to play it safe and not risk him getting seriously hurt and have to miss more than just a game or two. And, of course, Ozzie has to be healthy for his All Star appearance next week!

Drew Smyly didn’t have his best outing for the Braves, but it wasn’t awful; he still got the win. Smyly went five innings, allowed nine hits, three runs, three walks, and he had four strikeouts. The three runs he gave up, which were the only three runs the Pirates scored, came in the bottom of the first inning on a three-run home run by Jacob Stallings. Other than that he, and the Atlanta Braves bullpen for that matter, were lights out.

The Braves scored their first run on an RBI single by Austin Riley. He scored Ozzie Albies who had a hustle double before him. Going into the third inning, the Braves are down 3-1. Ronald AcuƱa Jr. brought Atlanta one run closer when he belted a solo home run into left center field, making it a 3-2 game.

To start off the sixth inning for Atlanta, Dansby Swanson led off with a walk. He stole second base and then Guillermo Heredia followed him with a walk. The Braves newly acquired catcher, Jonathan Lucroy had a sacrifice bunt to advance Swanson to third and Heredia to second. On the very next pitch of the ballgame, Abraham Almonte, fresh off the bench, hit a two-RBI single, giving the Braves the lead at 4-3. Almonte’s base hit brought AcuƱa up, with one out. He had a single, which was followed by a groundout by Freeman to make the second out. Then, to load the bases with Braves, Ehire Adrianza walked. Adrianza was in brought in the game to fill in for Ozzie. So, with the bases loaded, Austin Riley was up. He walked, which allowed Swanson to score, extending their lead to 5-3. Orlando Arcia extended the Braves lead again with a two-RBI single, making it 7-3 all Atlanta.

The Atlanta Braves added their final offensive blow on the Pirates in the top of the eighth inning. To lead off the inning, Adrianza had a single. Austin Riley followed him with a lineout. So, with one out, Ender Inciarte was up to bat. He had an RBI double to score Adrianza and make it 8-3. Dansby scored Ender with an RBI double, making it 9-3. Heredia had a groundout to make the second out. Jonathan Lucroy kept the Braves alive with a RBI single which scored Swanson and made it 10-3 Atlanta. To make it 12-3 Braves, Abraham Almonte hit a two-run homer. And then, to score the FINAL two Atlanta runs, Ehire Adrianza had a two-RBI double, that scored AcuƱa and Freeman who both reached base on singles their previous at-bats. That made it 14-3, all Braves!

Things have still been scattered for the Atlanta Braves this 2021 season. They are going to have to figure things out soon, or they aren’t going to have a very enjoyable rest of the season.

Braves vs. Blue Jays Series Wrap

The Blue Jays were said to be a very good team this year, and the Braves got to witness that first hand in their two series’ against them, in which they were swept both times. Pitching has still proven to be an issue for this Braves team. The starting rotation has improved and now that Max Fried is back they are starting to stabilize it, but the bullpen has continued to be the problem. However, now that Chris Martin is back on the active roster and the Braves re-signed Shane Greene to a one year deal, the Braves’ bullpen will hopefully gain some stability soon.

Game One: Bryse Wilson vs. Robbie Ray, Braves lost 5-3

It’s games like this one (and the rest of the games in this series) that are tough to swallow. The Braves started the game off great. Bryse Wilson struck out the side to start off the game. He pitched very well for the Braves in his last-minute outing. He pitched six inning, with six hits and he only gave up two runs. He had five strikeouts and no walks… NO WALKS. That is huge! Walks will always come back to haunt a pitcher, and Wilson had such good control over the baseball he didn’t walk a single batter.

The Braves scored first and early against Jays pitcher Robbie Ray. Ronald AcuƱa Jr. lead off the game with a first pitch single, Freeman walked, and then after a strikeout of Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies (my man) had a RBI single to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. They scored again on a solo home run by AcuƱa in the bottom of the third.

Things looked good for the Braves until Toronto made a game of it in the top of the sixth inning on a gigantic two-run homer by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. That home run tied the game, 2-2 and took a win opportunity away from Wilson. However, in the bottom of the sixth inning, Marcell Ozuna hit an absolute BOMB to left center field to give the Braves the lead again.

Okay, now here’s where things got frustrating. Top of the eighth inning, the Braves still had the lead. A.J. Minter was on to pitch for the Braves. He gave up a lead off double to Johnathan Davis, the first batter he saw and then it went downhill from there. Next batter: Minter gets Marcus Semien to get a ball on the ground. Minter fielded the ball but he didn’t throw it to first… or second, right away at least. He looked at the runner back at second, like you should do, and started to throw it to first and then didn’t, so he threw it to second. By that time it was too late to get either player out, even after review. After that, he saw Bo Bichette and he got a single off of Minter. The Blue Jays didn’t score but played their base runners base to base. Keep in mind that A.J. Minter doesn’t have an out yet. Then, on the first pitch he saw, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a single to tie the game at 3 a piece and for the Blue Jays to still have bases loaded, with no one out. After that disappointing outing out of Minter, the Braves brought Jacob Webb on to pitch. Webb gets Toescar Hernandez to hit a soft tapper to Freddie Freeman who was playing in a shift. That SHOULD have been an easy out except one problem… Webb didn’t go cover first base. What was he thinking?!? Instead of running to go cover first base and get an out without another Toronto run scoring, he squatted down at the side of the mound. No one else could’ve covered first and Freddie couldn’t run to the first base bag in time, so Hernandez was safe and another run scored making it 4-3 Blue Jays. They also still had the bases loaded, with no one out. Webb struck out the next batter he saw, and then gave up a bases loaded walk to Cavan Biggio to make it a 5-3 game. The walk that Jacob Webb gave up, on four straight pitches, was the ONLY walk that the Braves pitching staff gave up that game. The only one!

The Braves made a little bit of a threat in the bottom of the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough to allow them to score, or win.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Hyun Jin Ryu, Braves lost 4-1

This was definitely an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel through the first five innings for both teams starters. Max Fried was excellent for the Braves in this outing. He went six innings with two hits, he allowed one run, had three walks, and four strikeouts. Yes, his walks and strikeouts are close in number, but he had very good command and was able to get lots of groundouts.

In a pitchers duel, one team is bound to score and the Braves scored first. In the bottom of the fifth inning, William Contreras hit an absolute missile into the seats in left center field to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. He crushed that baseball. It sound loud, it looked loud, and it went far. His home run went a total of 463 feet. 463 feet, that’s a ton! However, it didn’t take the Blue Jays long to tie the game.

Now it was up to the Braves’ bullpen to keep the game tied at one and allow the Braves’ offense to score. That did not happen. Luke Jackson came on to pitch the seventh inning, and the first pitch he threw, Teoscar Hernandez hit way out to center field. That made it a 2-1 game, Blue Jays on top. Jackson did not give up another run and he left the game within reach for the Braves, but in the top of the ninth inning, Josh Tomlin blew that chance. On the first pitch he threw he gave up a single to Bo Bichette, and then after a line out of Guerrero Jr., Tomlin gave up the final blow. A two-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez that gave the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead. That was the final score of the game, and it hurt.

Game Three: Charlie Morton vs. Ross Stripling, Braves lost 8-4

Once again the Braves started this game out great. Offense was good, so was their starting pitching. But the bullpen blew it again. Charlie Morton pitched much better than his previous outing before this one. He went 4.2 innings, he gave up seven hits, three runs, and only two walks. He also had four strikeouts.

The Braves started their game offensively with a huge bang. On the FIRST PITCH he saw, Ronald AcuƱa Jr. hit a bomb to the Hank Aaron Terrace in left field at Truist Park. It was a no-doubter as soon as it hit the bat. After his home run, Freddie Freeman singled, Marcell Ozuna lined out, and then Ozzie Albies had a bloop single that advanced Freeman to third. Ehire Adrianza, who started the day at third for the Braves, had a RBI single to score Freddie. That, with the AcuƱa homer, gave the Braves a 2-0 lead going into the second.

The Blue Jays scored one in the top of the second on a RBI double by Jonathan Davis, and they scored two in the top of the fifth inning to give them the lead at 3-2.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Dansby Swanson hit a two-run home run to left field to give the Braves the lead again at 4-3. It was good to see him start to show a little more life at the plate given he has been in a little bit of a hitting slump.

The Braves had a huge scare in the bottom of the seventh inning. After they had already lost Christian Pache in the bottom of the second inning on Pache tweaking something in his hammy running to first base, they definitely did not need this. Ronald AcuƱa Jr. is batting for the Braves, he hits a ground ball to Blue Jays third baseman and AcuƱa is running as fast as he can to first base. When he gets to the bag he apparently missed the bad and then landed on his left ankle funny, immediately falling to the ground in pain. He had to leave the game. After the game and AcuƱa having gotten x-rays, there are no broken bones, thankfully, or anything seriously wrong with his ankle.

Even after the Braves had gotten the lead back, the Blue Jays weren’t giving up easily. In the top of the eighth inning, Cavan Biggio had a RBI double to score Teoscar Hernandez and tie the game at four. Then, in the top of the ninth inning, the Braves bullpen, once again, blew an opportunity for the Braves to come back and win the game.

Will Smith was pitching for the Braves to try and get them into the ninth still tied. He very much failed to do so. He gave up a lead off single to Danny Jansen and then another single to Marcus Semien and then a double on the first pitch to Bo Bichette, which scored Jansen and Semien to give the Blue Jays a 6-4 lead. Smith got a one pitch line out out of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and then he gave up yet another single, this time to Teoscar Hernandez. After that, Biggio had a double which scored Bichette, advanced Hernandez to third, and extended the Jays’ lead. Will Smith was taken out of the game. He had a very disappointing outing. Jesse Biddle came on to pitch after Smith and he got a sac fly out of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. which scored another Toronto run. That was the final run they scored making it an 8-4 Blue Jays victory.

The bullpen is a MAJOR issue for the Braves right now, and until it’s fixed, it will be hard for the Braves to win games. The bullpen needs to do its job of A: protecting a Braves’ lead, or B: keeping the game close and in reach for the Braves to come back and win. In game three of this series, Sean Newcomb and Chris Martin came out of the bullpen and both pitched 1-2-3 innings for the Braves which was a good sign. And Jacob Webb pitched 1.1 scoreless innings for the Braves. Hopefully those guys can come out of the bullpen and give the Braves the needed stability on the mound in the late innings.