Braves with 9th inning magic as Dansby walks it off
The starting pitcher went only three innings. They left a ton of runners on base. But that’s okay since the Braves rarely get started until the ninth inning anyway.
Down 6-3 in the ninth inning, the Braves got a pair of two-run home runs from Adam Duvall and Dansby Swanson to cap yet another late-inning comeback under manager Brian Snitker and win the first game of the series 7-6 against the World Champion Washington Nationals.
There’s no reason the Braves should have won this game, but they did. They simply never give up, and if you are their opponent, you better know they never give up.
The Braves had several opportunities to score on the Nationals, including a bases loaded chance in the seventh inning with only one out. But Nationals reliever Tanner Rainey struck out Johan Camargo and Matt Adams to protect Washington’s lead.
The Nationals got an insurance run in the ninth inning when Juan Soto had a leadoff home run off reliever Will Smith. That padded the lead to three runs with closer Daniel Hudson coming in for the Nationals.
But in the ninth, Hudson hit Nick Markakis in the leg. Then Duvall hit his fourth home run of the season to make it 6-5. Camargo then singled, but the Braves were down to their last out after Adeiny Hechavarria struck out and Ender Inciarte flied out.
Up steps Swanson, who already had two hits on the night, and hit drove a fastball from Hudson over the center field fence for the game-winning, walk-off home run.
The Braves had another pitiful start, this time from Touki Toussaint, who went only three innings and gave up four runs on two hits and had six walks. Luis Garcia hit a two-run home run and Eric Thames a solo shot in the second inning to give Washington the early lead.
The Braves (14-10) have now won three in a row after losing four straight last week. They’ll send Josh Tomlin (1-0, 1.59) to the mound in a spot start Tuesday against Washington pitcher Austin Voth (0-2, 3.21).
With Miami’s loss to the Mets, the Braves are in sole position of first place.
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