<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sVVwmvGc-tsMRryB8Agu101CpWo=/0x0:8640x5760/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73443577/2159864392.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Chris Sale has been fantastic for the Braves this season and that has continued as his strong start tonight helped propel Atlanta to a victory. Chris Sale was once again a force to be reckoned with on the mound. The veteran hurler only gave up one run over six innings while striking out nine batters as the Atlanta Braves held on to a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Both teams traded scoreless frames to start off tonight’s game but it wouldn’t remain scoreless for long. Indeed, Austin Riley and Travis d’Arnaud both hit back-to-back singles to start off the second inning and give the Braves a shot at putting some runs on the board. Adam Duvall ended up being the man of the moment, as he kept the line going by hitting a double to make it a 1-0 game for the Braves. There was still nobody out so at that point the obvious hope was that the Braves would be able to turn this into a big inning. Unfortunately, that was never meant to be as Forrest Wall, Zack Short and Jarred Kelenic all went down in order to leave a bit of disappointment behind in the second inning.
The third inning saw Austin Riley hit a sharp line drive to left field, only to get robbed of what surely would’ve been an extra-base hit by Luis Matos making a diving catch in left field. The fourth inning saw the Braves get a runner in scoring position after Forrest Wall walked and then stole second immediately afterwards but all of this happened with two outs, so Zack Short was unable to cash in the runner. However, the Braves were able to get something going in the fifth inning with two outs and it started in one of the weirdest ways possible.
Ozzie Albies was at the plate with one out in the fifth and he hit a foul ball that bounced into the dugout with some serious pace and ended up colliding with Brian Snitker in a very delicate spot. Fortunately, Snitker was okay but you know he had to have been seriously uncomfortable for a moment there after getting hit by what was a foul ball in more ways than one.
Almost as if it was in response to their manager’s midsection woes, the Braves’ bats came alive. Marcell Ozuna singled, Matt Olson singled and then Austin Riley hit a double that plated both Ozuna and Olson to make it a 3-0 game for the Braves. It was nearly 4-0 after Travis d’Arnaud hit a single into right field. Unfortunately for Atlanta, Austin Slater’s throw from right field made it to home plate just in time for Curt Casali to make a great tag that was confirmed to be an out upon further review.
That meant that Chris Sale had three runs of breathing room to work with heading into his sixth and final inning. While it certainly would’ve been nice to see Sale finish off the night with six scoreless innings, that wasn’t the case as the Giants did eventually push a run past the plate in this frame. Old friend Jorge Soler led off the sixth with a double and he was eventually cashed in after Matt Chapman hit one right down the left field line on a full count for a double that cut the deficit to two runs and put San Francisco on the board. Chris Sale got Luis Matos to ground out before ending the inning and if we’re all being honest, everybody in the building and watching at home would’ve taken Sale only giving up one run over six innings in this one.
The seventh inning begin with high hopes as the Braves rudely welcomed Luke Jackson back to the mound in Cobb County with a leadoff single. Jackson then exacerbated his own situation by committing a throwing error on a fielder’s choice and just like that, the Braves had runners on the corners with nobody out. Things petered out in a hurry for Atlanta, though — Forrest Wall got caught stealing and then Zack Short hit a grounder to short and Adam Duvall got thrown out at home by a mile. Jarred Kelenic then struck out and the hopefully inning was wiped out in a hurry.
A.J. Minter made his return from the IL in the seventh inning and was also rudely welcomed back to the mound as he got hit with a comebacker with the very first pitch that he threw. The good news is that it didn’t result in Minter’s night ending, as he simply knocked it down and made the play at first base. The rest of the inning was scoreless, which meant that this was a successful initial outing following injury from A.J. Minter. Joe Jiménez got the ball for the eighth inning and sat down the pinch-hitting Giants in order. San Francisco went with two pinch hitters in the eighth but it didn't matter for them when it came to Jiménez, who made sure that Atlanta would head into the ninth inning with at least a two-run lead.
The two-run lead remained as such by the time Raisel Iglesias got the ball. Iglesias has been very reliable this season and that didn't change tonight, either. Matt Chapman hit a one-out single to make it so that the Giants would have the potential tying run at the plate from that point forward but it didn't matter in the end. Iglesias got Luis Matos to pop out and then struck out Brett Wisely to end the game and put the Braves back in the win column.
Our long, national nightmare is over as the Braves have avoided losing three straight games. They'll now be looking to follow up their two-game losing streak with a two-game winning streak as they'll be trying to win the series against the Giants tomorrow night at 7:20 P.M. E.T. Charlie Morton will be trying to get the best of Logan Webb and Morton will also be trying to pick up where Chris Sale left off. Sale has been brilliant this season and his performance tonight was another feather in the veteran's cap.
<img alt="San Francisco Giants v Atlanta Braves" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sVVwmvGc-tsMRryB8Agu101CpWo=/0x0:8640x5760/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73443577/2159864392.0.jpg">
Photo by Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
Chris Sale has been fantastic for the Braves this season and that has continued as his strong start tonight helped propel Atlanta to a victory. Chris Sale was once again a force to be reckoned with on the mound. The veteran hurler only gave up one run over six innings while striking out nine batters as the Atlanta Braves held on to a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants.
Both teams traded scoreless frames to start off tonight’s game but it wouldn’t remain scoreless for long. Indeed, Austin Riley and Travis d’Arnaud both hit back-to-back singles to start off the second inning and give the Braves a shot at putting some runs on the board. Adam Duvall ended up being the man of the moment, as he kept the line going by hitting a double to make it a 1-0 game for the Braves. There was still nobody out so at that point the obvious hope was that the Braves would be able to turn this into a big inning. Unfortunately, that was never meant to be as Forrest Wall, Zack Short and Jarred Kelenic all went down in order to leave a bit of disappointment behind in the second inning.
The third inning saw Austin Riley hit a sharp line drive to left field, only to get robbed of what surely would’ve been an extra-base hit by Luis Matos making a diving catch in left field. The fourth inning saw the Braves get a runner in scoring position after Forrest Wall walked and then stole second immediately afterwards but all of this happened with two outs, so Zack Short was unable to cash in the runner. However, the Braves were able to get something going in the fifth inning with two outs and it started in one of the weirdest ways possible.
Ozzie Albies was at the plate with one out in the fifth and he hit a foul ball that bounced into the dugout with some serious pace and ended up colliding with Brian Snitker in a very delicate spot. Fortunately, Snitker was okay but you know he had to have been seriously uncomfortable for a moment there after getting hit by what was a foul ball in more ways than one.
Almost as if it was in response to their manager’s midsection woes, the Braves’ bats came alive. Marcell Ozuna singled, Matt Olson singled and then Austin Riley hit a double that plated both Ozuna and Olson to make it a 3-0 game for the Braves. It was nearly 4-0 after Travis d’Arnaud hit a single into right field. Unfortunately for Atlanta, Austin Slater’s throw from right field made it to home plate just in time for Curt Casali to make a great tag that was confirmed to be an out upon further review.
That meant that Chris Sale had three runs of breathing room to work with heading into his sixth and final inning. While it certainly would’ve been nice to see Sale finish off the night with six scoreless innings, that wasn’t the case as the Giants did eventually push a run past the plate in this frame. Old friend Jorge Soler led off the sixth with a double and he was eventually cashed in after Matt Chapman hit one right down the left field line on a full count for a double that cut the deficit to two runs and put San Francisco on the board. Chris Sale got Luis Matos to ground out before ending the inning and if we’re all being honest, everybody in the building and watching at home would’ve taken Sale only giving up one run over six innings in this one.
The seventh inning begin with high hopes as the Braves rudely welcomed Luke Jackson back to the mound in Cobb County with a leadoff single. Jackson then exacerbated his own situation by committing a throwing error on a fielder’s choice and just like that, the Braves had runners on the corners with nobody out. Things petered out in a hurry for Atlanta, though — Forrest Wall got caught stealing and then Zack Short hit a grounder to short and Adam Duvall got thrown out at home by a mile. Jarred Kelenic then struck out and the hopefully inning was wiped out in a hurry.
A.J. Minter made his return from the IL in the seventh inning and was also rudely welcomed back to the mound as he got hit with a comebacker with the very first pitch that he threw. The good news is that it didn’t result in Minter’s night ending, as he simply knocked it down and made the play at first base. The rest of the inning was scoreless, which meant that this was a successful initial outing following injury from A.J. Minter. Joe Jiménez got the ball for the eighth inning and sat down the pinch-hitting Giants in order. San Francisco went with two pinch hitters in the eighth but it didn't matter for them when it came to Jiménez, who made sure that Atlanta would head into the ninth inning with at least a two-run lead.
The two-run lead remained as such by the time Raisel Iglesias got the ball. Iglesias has been very reliable this season and that didn't change tonight, either. Matt Chapman hit a one-out single to make it so that the Giants would have the potential tying run at the plate from that point forward but it didn't matter in the end. Iglesias got Luis Matos to pop out and then struck out Brett Wisely to end the game and put the Braves back in the win column.
Our long, national nightmare is over as the Braves have avoided losing three straight games. They'll now be looking to follow up their two-game losing streak with a two-game winning streak as they'll be trying to win the series against the Giants tomorrow night at 7:20 P.M. E.T. Charlie Morton will be trying to get the best of Logan Webb and Morton will also be trying to pick up where Chris Sale left off. Sale has been brilliant this season and his performance tonight was another feather in the veteran's cap.
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