Walt Weiss often speaks about great teams looking back on a memorable season and reliving all the victories they were able to steal.
Wednesday was the epitome of such a triumph.
“(Tarik) Skubal on the mound, Ozzie (Albies) going out and getting two runs for us early, they battle back, took the lead, and one of the better closers of all time on the mound?” said Braves first baseman Matt Olson, dripping with sweat and water and other fluids that had been doused on him minutes earlier. ”You could definitely say that falls under the, ‘steals one’ category.”
Olson was the main thief who pulled off the heist Wednesday. His two-run home run into the Braves’ bullpen in right-center in the ninth inning beat the Tigers 4-3.
It was an “Ocean’s Eleven” type of effort, however, from the Braves, who won their ninth series in 10 tries this season (having tied the other one) and improved their MLB-best record to 22-9.
Starter JR Ritchie, in just his second MLB game, held the Tigers to three runs. Albies hit a two-run homer and drew a walk that preceded Olson’s homer. The Braves’ bullpen threw 3⅔ more scoreless innings.
Wednesday’s win was also just the second of the season for the Braves when trailing after eight innings. This team just keeps finding a way to get the job done no matter the scenario.
“It starts to feel like that the more wins you kind of put together that way,” added Olson, whose walk-off homer was his first since July 24, 2020, when he played for the Athletics.
The Braves had been Skubal-ed for much of Wednesday, as the two-time-reigning American League Cy Young winner pitched seven strong innings, fanned seven and walked none. After Skubal gave up two in the first inning on an Albies homer into the left field bullpen, the Braves mustered only three more hits off the Tigers’ ace.
Skubal induced 16 swings-and-misses and struck out the side in the seventh before he retired for the night.
Kyle Finnegan relieved Skubal and, with two outs in the eighth, walked pinch-hitter Dominic Smith and Ronald Acuña Jr. to bring Drake Baldwin to the plate. Baldwin rolled the eighth pitch of the at-bat to shortstop to end the inning and seemingly end a chance at a Braves comeback.
But in the ninth, Kenley Jansen (0-2), who has 482 career saves, walked Albies on six pitches to bring Olson to the plate.
Olson fouled off two cutters and then fouled off a sinker before taking a slider in the dirt.
Then, goodnight.
“(Jansen’s) got a unicorn pitch. His cutter’s his best pitch,” Olson said as he relived the at-bat. “I saw (Albies) swing over top a couple of ‘em, so I was wondering if it wasn’t getting that carry today. When (Albies) was on first, I was trying to keep double play out of order and set my sights a little higher than I typically would. (Jansen) kind of just left one over the middle.”
Olson’s shot went 397 feet on a low line and just cleared the wall to give the Braves their 11th come-from-behind win this season.
Ritchie, meanwhile, found himself with a 2-0 lead before taking the mound in the second inning, but that’s where some of his trouble began. Wenceel Pérez hit a check-swing double down the third base line, and a walk to Jace Yung brought Kevin McGonigle to the plate. The rookie shortstop lined an RBI single to center.
With Gleyber Torres at the plate, Ritchie tried to pick off McGonigle at first and instead threw the ball past Olson. That brought Jung home, tying the game at 2-all.
Riley Greene hit his fourth homer of the season in the third, a 417-foot shot off a Ritchie changeup that traveled over the wall in center field.
Ritchie held the Tigers in check from there and left after 5⅓ innings with the score still stuck at 3-2. The 22-year-old threw 97 pitches, walked four and struck out four.
He was in the training room getting postgame treatment and watched on television as Olson’s homer cleared the fence.
“What an unbelievable ending,” Ritchie said. “I didn’t really know what to do with myself. It was a good three minutes where the team’s celebrating outside. I was running, high-fiving everybody. My hand hurt. That was great. I owe (Olson) dinner after that one.”
Dylan Lee, in his return from the paternity list, struck out four in 1⅔ innings and Reynaldo López (2-1), pitching for the first time since April 21 and for the first time this season out of the bullpen, retired all six batters he faced in two innings to get the win.
All that allowed the Braves to hang around and have a chance, which is all they appear to need in this early part of the season.
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