In a lot of ways, it was a fitting ending to what many have dubbed the season from hell for the Atlanta Braves.
Wednesday night’s elimination game started totally different, yet exactly the same as Game 1. The Braves were actually able to jump out to a 1-0 lead and grab some momentum early, thanks to a leadoff double from Michael Harris II, which was followed by some ABC baseball, something fans have been begging to see from this team over the last five months. Ozzie Albies did a fantastic job advancing Harris to third, and Marcell Ozuna was able to bring him in with a sac-fly to right field.
The momentum continued to sway in the Braves favor in the bottom half of the inning, when Max Fried pulled off a Houdini act to get out of a bases loaded jam with nobody out. The first three batters of the Padres lineup failed to leave the infield, yet somehow they ended up covering the bags. However, Fried dug deep as he has so many times before, striking out Manny Machado and forcing two groundouts to end the inning.
Fried would not be so lucky in the second inning, though. The southpaw was able to retire the first two batters without much of an issue, but Kyle Higashioka‘s second home run of the series tied the game, and then disaster struck. Somehow, the Padres managed to load the bases again on three straight singles, of which only one left the infield.
Then, the floodgates opened. A double followed by a triple from the heart of the Padres lineup led to four more runs. The Braves were once again behind the eight-ball; this time, with their season on the line.
However, just like last night, Atlanta’s bullpen gave them every opportunity to come from behind. A combination of Dylan Lee, Daysbel Hernandez, Pierce Johnson, and Joe Jimenez combined for six scoreless innings, and the Braves actually put together a lot of really good at-bats against some elite Padres pitchers, including a couple of homers from Jorge Soler and Michael Harris II, which led to three runs.
Unfortunately, that’s all they could muster. The baseball gods were against Atlanta from start to finish, as they’ve seemingly been the entire season.
During the game, it was also revealed by Brian Snitker that Max Fried was not feeling right after taking a line drive off the leg in the first inning, yet another perfect microcosm of Atlanta’s 2024 campaign.
When next April comes around, I’m sure this Braves club will be able to sit back and laugh at all they had to endure this season. A 162-game season is always exhausting, but this one takes the cake. I’ve been exhausted just watching it. One can only imagine what they feel like tonight. It’s a testament to their resilience that they even made it this far. Nobody in that clubhouse should be hanging their head.
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Photo: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire
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