It almost did not happen, but the Atlanta Braves still found a way to win. Atlanta has taken the first two of their home series vs. the Cincinnati Reds, and Tuesday night's victory was all about perseverance and Marcell Ozuna walking off.
While Chris Sale did not get any run support, he's looked like vintage Sale in back-to-back starts after his early-season struggles in April. Michael Harris II responded to Brian Snitker moving him down in the batting order with a game-tying double in the ninth to break a 1-for-22 slump. And then the similarly cold Ozuna took advantage of Reds manager Terry Francona intentionally walking Austin Riley to face him in extras.
Braves legendary left-hander and occasional broadcaster Tom Glavine told his play-by-play colleague Brandon Gaudin that walking Riley to face Ozuna was a huge mistake made by the veteran Reds skipper. Ozuna then promptly mashed one to left field to plate Alex Verdugo from second base to take the second game of the four-game series, 2-1. Ozuna had been in a 4-for-29 slump dating back to April.
Sale said it best when describing what this type of walk-off win can mean for an entire clubhouse.
“Games like this can pick up some steam for you and get you catapulted in the right direction. So it was a fun, fun clubhouse.”
Atlanta is 17-18 on the year, playing much better after that 0-7 start, and they're only five games back of the New York Mets in the National League East.
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Terry Francona may have woken up "The Big Bear" in Marcell Ozuna
Prior to entering this mini-slump, Ozuna had been arguably the Braves' most consistently strong hitter over the last couple of years. He may have had a rough go of it in 2021 and 2022, but it was around this time two years ago where Ozuna changed the trajectory of his career at the plate. He raked last year while most of the injury-plagued Braves lineup did not.
Trying to remove my Braves fan bias from the equation, my brain keeps going back to two things from the events that decided Tuesday night's game. The first is that Francona should have known better than to set Ozuna up for success like that. He has won World Series as a baseball lifer; I get that Ozuna was struggling a bit at the plate, but that put the relief pitcher in an impossible spot there.
The second thing I noticed is a bit broader: There are reasons why the Braves have been the far better run organization over the last 35 years than the Reds. I do not need to get into that in full, but this was one of those instances where better baseball culture prevailed. We see it all the time in other spots, if you are paying close attention. The Reds are trying to level up, while the Braves are trying to rebound.
It is in these crucial moments where star performers come to shine. Harris II and Ozuna have been with this team for a while. Sale may only be in his second year with the Braves, but he won the Triple Crown last year and is well on his way toward Cooperstown. Francona belongs there too, but the big gamble to walk Riley to face Ozuna with a man on first and second in the bottom of the 10th blew up big time.
Atlanta is far from a perfect ball club, but it is one that is slowly, but surely starting to find its way here.