The Braves have the best record in baseball, at 22-9, and with Wednesday night’s thrilling win over the Tigers, they’re continuing their drive as one of the best stories in the majors.
From clutch hitting to quality pitching and defense, the Braves have had their share of exciting plays.
Here’s a short list of the Braves’ top plays so far this season:
Smith’s slam
Dominic Smith’s grand slam walk-off to beat the Royals on March 28 — the second game of the season — is at the top of the list so far.
Smith’s shocker was the capper to a six-run ninth inning, and he became the first player in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam in his team debut (he didn’t play during the opener).
Smith was a nonroster invitee and has developed into a player the team counts on, and another hidden gem of a story this season.
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Smith doubles up
One wasn’t enough for Smith, whose game-winning, three-run double to beat Marlins on April 14.
The hit completed a comeback for the Braves, who had trailed 4-0 and 5-3.
Ozzie’s gem vs. Diamondbacks
Ozzie Albies’ two-run homer in the ninth to beat Arizona on April 3 was another in the list of late-game heroics.
Albies broke a scoreless tie with his home run, and Matt Olson followed with another solo home run, for the 2-0 victory.
The home run was the 427th extra-base hit of Albies’ career, which moved him into sole possession of the ninth-most in franchise history. After the game, Albies met the fan who caught the homer and exchanged it for a signed bat and two signed baseballs.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Olson’s walk-off
It’s not recency bias — this was as shocking a turnaround as any other on this list. The Tigers had led for most of the game, and the Braves had a rally diffused earlier in the ninth, but the 4-3 win on April 29 was memorable.
The Braves struggled most of last season with getting clutch hits, and this was evidence that they’ve tamed those demons — at least so far — this season.
Acuña’s catch
Ronald Acuña’s running catch in the ninth inning in Philadelphia to preserve a win over Phillies on April 19 is one the best defensive plays this season.
The Phillies had two runners on and Kyle Schwarber lined the ball to right field. Acuña ran to his left toward the wall and leaped at the last second to time the catch right into his glove.
Braves win.
Walt Weiss’ takedown
Manager Walt Weiss’ form tackle of Jorge Soler is one of the more intriguing highlights, because Weiss wasn’t even part of the initial fray. When Soler was hit by the pitch and stared down Reynaldo López, things got cooking.
The benches cleared and there was Weiss, right in the middle of everything. The cameras didn’t focus on Weiss, but he made the biggest play of the night, bringing down Soler before things got out of hand.
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