Michael Harris II a Pinch Hit Hero Again as Braves Rally to Beat Rockies

The Atlanta Braves rallied on Friday night to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-6 and start their latest road trip on a mile-high note. They found themselves down 6-0 after two innings, but they managed to rally in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings to complete the comeback

“This was a game they got out on top early, and we just fought back,” Michael Harris II said in a postgame interview with BravesVision. “This is the team we’ve been all year, kind of believing in each other, and pretty much used everybody tonight to get it done.”

At least six different players had at least a hit for the Braves on Friday, with five of them driving in a run.

Matt Olson’s 10th home run of the season, a solo shot, put the Braves on the board in the top of the fourth inning. Jonah Heim scored Austin Riley on a sacrifice groundout in the top of the seventh to chip away further.

The eighth inning was where the big rally came about. Mauricio Dubón cleared the bases with a triple to put the Braves within one, and Riley drove him in with a sac fly to tie the game.

After being left out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, Harris was brought in to pinch hit for Jorge Mateo in the top of the ninth with Kyle Farmer on first with no one out. He hit one hard to right field and over the outfield wall to put the Braves up 8-6 and reach the final score.

Harris has now delivered in a pinch-hit role twice in the last week. Last Friday, he delivered the go-ahead against the Phillies at Truist Park, en route to a Braves’ 5-3 win.

Since he sustained his quad injury back on April 23, Harris has batted .353 with six RBIs across 19 plate appearances in seven games.

Grant Holmes still managed to give the Braves five innings despite allowing six runs, five earned, early in his start. Didier Fuentes made another appearance out of the bullpen and pitched a scoreless inning. His effort earned him his first career win.

Anthony Molina made his Braves debut, delivering two scoreless innings against his former team.

The Braves have a chance to claim another series win on Saturday. Chris Sale will be on the bump for an 8:10 p.m. EDT first pitch (5:10 local time).

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