Braves Fall To Cardinals In Game 1 Of NLDS
The Braves were in a great position to win the game… then the eighth and ninth innings rolled around.
The Braves will be kicking themselves after this one. They led 3-1 going into the eighth inning but it all fell apart when Luke Jackson and Mark Melancon took the mound in relief.
After Chris Martin left the game due to injury, Brian Snitker called in Luke Jackson. On his second pitch in relief, Paul Goldschmidt hit a ball so far it may still be in orbit. Matt Carpenter then tied it up with a bloop single with 2 outs in the eighth. Here’s where the wheels start to fall off.
Marcel Ozuna comes up to bat with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, and he delivered, with a two-run double to give the cards a 5-3 lead. The Cards decided to add some insurance and it came in the form of another two-run double with the bases loaded, this time it was Cardinals second basemen Kolten Wong.
The Cards led 7-3 entering the bottom of the ninth and the Braves tried to claw their way back, but it wasn’t enough. The eventually fell 7-6 and the Cardinals now lead the NLDS 1-0. The next game is tomorrow at 4:30 at Suntrust Park. Mike Foltynewicz will take the mound for the Braves and Jack Flaherty will toe the rubber for the Cardinals.
Side Notes
Acuna did not run out what he thought was a home run and ended up with a single. This was an issue earlier this season and Braves manager Brian Snitker appeared to address it but it appears Acuna has not quite gotten the point of hustling, especially in the playoffs. Freddie Freeman was not happy after the loss, “That can’t happen in the postseason. It can’t happen in the regular season… unfortunately it did tonight.”
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