ATLANTA – Performance in extra-inning games has become a forte of the Atlanta Braves, where it used to be a flaw. And it’s been an overlooked factor in keeping the Braves in the NL wild-card race.
Despite a multitude of injuries to key players and significant offensive decline from several of their 2023 All-Stars, the Braves have managed to stay in the thick of the wild-card race with 18 games left.
They fell a game behind the New York Mets for the third and final wild-card spot on Monday, with the Braves’ desultory 1-0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds coupled with the Mets’ 3-2 win against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Braves are a seemingly insurmountable eight games behind NL East leader Philadelphia.
It was the 10th time the Braves have been shut out in 86 games, after not being shut out for more than a year before that stretch.
“It’s been a struggle at times this year,” said first baseman Matt Olson, whose two singles were the Braves’ only hits Monday, “but what’s done is done, all we can do is worry about tomorrow. That’s kind of the answer I’ve been giving all year, but I think we truly believe that.
“We’ve got a lot of opportunity in front of us, but we’ve just got to make it happen.”
Their wild-card hopes are alive despite all the frustration, some of which boiled over Monday.
Jorge Soler destroyed a dugout iPad by slamming it to the floor after popping out. He damaged the Braves’ chances of winning with a poor throw from right field past cutoff man Olson on Ty France’s RBI double in the second inning, which scored Ty Friedl from first.
The Braves have Apple Care, right? pic.twitter.com/UUhrlJ6Ngt
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Soler has hit .188 with five homers in 31 games since being traded to the Braves, and four homers came in one three-game series at Colorado’s Coors Field.
His dugout display was highly uncharacteristic of the Braves. There was also more audible swearing from others than usual in the Braves’ dugout during the game. Atlanta wasted another strong pitching performance from Charlie Morton and the bullpen.
“We’re all competitors,” Olson said. “Nobody wants to get shut out. So you’re going to see stuff from time to time. But I think everybody does a pretty good job of, if something happens and they want to get out some frustration, they get it out and they flush it. And they mentally prepare for the next opportunity.”
Starting pitching has been the biggest reason they’re still in the wild-card race, but their 12-5 record in extra-inning games has helped. That’s three more extra-inning wins than any other MLB team had before Monday, and the Braves’ 20-8 record in extra-inning games since the beginning of last season also is baseball’s best.
It’s especially notable considering the Braves ranked 27th with a 13-19 record in extra-inning games during the first three seasons (2020-2022) with the current rules, in which a “ghost” runner is placed at second base to start each extra inning.
“I think Iggy’s got a lot to do with that, all the extra innings that he’s put down with that runner at second base,” manager Brian Snitker said of closer Raisel Iglesias, who’s pitched two innings in extra-inning games five times in two months, getting the decision in four wins in those games and no decision in a loss in the other.
Iglesias pitched the last two innings of Sunday’s 4-3, 11-inning walk-off win against Toronto, extending his streak to 29 games with at least one inning pitched and no earned runs allowed. That ties former Cleveland closer José Mesa’s 1995 record for longest such streak since earned runs were first tracked in 1913.
The Braves have also become more accustomed to strategy in extra-inning games from playing them so frequently. Their 17 extra-inning games are second-most in the majors to the Marlins’ 18.
They’re playing more close games this season in large part because of an offense that ranks 17th in the majors in scoring and 13th in OPS (.712), after leading MLB by wide margins in scoring and OPS (.845) a year ago when they routed so many opponents.
“Yeah, we aren’t doing that now,” Snitker said of scoring gobs of runs. “Like I say, a lot of credit goes to that pitching staff. When you get in those situations and you win one, especially on the road, with that guy already on (second base) — that first out is huge.”
The Braves’ 11 total runs allowed in 17 extra-inning games is an 0.65 average that’s second-lowest in MLB to the Texas Rangers’ 0.55.
“It’s good to see the way the guys came through, especially (Sunday), doing a lot of little things,” Snitker said. “We had some good baserunning, some bunts executed really well, Eli (White) with a great break on the ground ball to score the winning run.”
And yes, almost none of this looked like anything the Braves would’ve done in extra innings in the past.
“Before, we’d just kind of sit there and slug it out with people,” Snitker said. “Now, we’ve got to be a little more creative and be able to do some things with where you’re at in your lineup.”
The Braves have some versatile, speedy bench players on their revamped roster, and Snitker and bench coach Walt Weiss are utilizing them in ways that the slugging Braves of recent years didn’t.
“Yeah, we’ve had to,” Snitker said. “We’re a different team now than we have been the last few years.”
Sale thrilled to be Clemente finalist
Chris Sale is currently favorited to win his first Cy Young Award and leads the NL in wins, ERA and strikeouts, which would give him the rare pitching Triple Crown if he can maintain those.
But when Sale, 35, found out Monday that he was the Braves’ finalist for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, he felt a different sort of pride and satisfaction than he gets from anything on the mound.
The Clemente award is given annually to the major leaguer “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
Each MLB team has a finalist, and it’s the first time in his 14-year career that Sale has been one.
“When they told me, it caught me off guard,” he said. “To be recognized is special, and I’m definitely appreciative of it. It made my day. To be in the same conversation with (Clemente) and to be able to do something like that, is special. And knowing who he was and what he did, and his legacy – I mean, he’s a great baseball player, and we’re sitting here talking about how awesome he was off the field. So that’s pretty damn cool.”
The award honors the legacy of Clemente, a Hall of Fame player and a humanitarian of the highest order. In December 1972, the Puerto Rican icon died in the crash of a plane that Clemente had chartered to take emergency relief goods for the survivors of a massive earthquake in Nicaragua.
Sale, who was traded to the Braves in late December, hosts groups each month before games in the Braves Foundation’s Community Clubhouse at Truist Park. That includes families of patients from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, Children’s Miracle Nework and Camp Sunshine, with Sale making sure to spend time with each.
On Memorial Day, Sale hosted five families from Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a group that helps those who’ve lost a family member in military service.
He also had a big role in the Braves’ Lou Gehrig Day celebration at Truist Park. Sale’s grandmother died of ALS (“Lou Gehrig’s disease”) when he was 5, and he’s worked with ALS groups for years.
He joined Olson to honor twin sisters from North Carolina whose father died recently from ALS. The sisters were awarded scholarships from the Live Like Lou Foundation to the University of North Carolina. Sale and Olson each matched those scholarship donations.
“I have family that that (ALS work) was important to,” Sale said, “and what better way to be able to put some smiles on kids’ faces, help families out that are going through a tough time, and taking care of some people that keep us safe and make this country free.”
He said meeting with families at Truist Park before games was particularly rewarding.
“They get bobbleheads, little stuffed animals and things like that,” he said. “And just to see some of the kids get excited – some of the kids are real involved with baseball. Sometimes it’s their first time coming to the ballpark, so just going up there and spending time with them, hanging out, taking pictures – I remember when I was a kid, and if I was able to do something like that with a major league baseball player, it would have been pretty cool.
“It’s nothing for me, as a starting pitcher especially on a day when I’m not pitching, to go take some time and hang out, sign autographs, take pictures and meet with people on the field. I think it’s an important part of what we should be doing.”
(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
