Braves Score Two in the 11th, Shock Marlins 4-3
What else does this team have to do to prove to us that they are special? Well they did their best to show us again on Friday night as the proved resilient in coming from behind to beat the Marlins. After a mental error in the 11th allowed the go ahead run to score, the Braves simply went out and got two runs on an Omar Infante walk off single in the bottom half to win for the 15th time in their final their final at bat on the season.
The truly amazing part of this was the Braves simply weren’t supposed to win this ball game. The Marlins starter was Josh Johnson who came into the game tied for the league lead in ERA. The Braves countered Kris Medlen who started the year in the bullpen. Johnson pitched six innings while only allowing one run. Medlen matched him pitch for pitch going six and a third and only allowing one run which came on a Hanley Ramirez first inning home run.
Martin Prado tied the game with a single in the fifth and gave the Braves the lead with another single in the seventh. With the lead and Johnson out of the game it appeared that the Braves had defied fate again. With Billy Wagner on the mound in the ninth fate reared its ugly head again as Gaby Sanchez homered to tie the game. It was as though fate had to remind the Braves that they weren’t supposed to win this one. It was the first run Wagner had allowed since May 22nd.
Disaster struck the Braves again in the top of the 11th. The Marlins loaded the bases with one out but a botched squeeze attempt gave the Braves a chance. Brian McCann inadvertently started a run down when all he should have done was run former Brave Wes Helms back to the bag for an out. Instead pitcher Jonny Venters dropped the ball on a tag of Helms which allowed him to score and give the Marlins the 3-2 lead.
The Braves however were not going to let fate win in this one. Brian McCann led off the inning with a walk and Troy Glaus doubled McCann to third. Omar Infante then stepped to the plate and singled a 2-2 pitch scoring McCann and Glaus and giving the Braves a most improbable 4-3 win. Fate as it seems had already left the building.
The resiliency and determination of this team with its refuse to lose attitude is inspirational. Unsung players like Gregor Blanco who by the way had another two hit game, have stepped up at every opportunity. This Braves team is just that. It feels like every victory is a team effort with a new hero every night.
The come from behind win allows the Braves to maintain their two game advantage on the New York Mets. The Braves will continue their series with the Marlins on Saturday with Tommy Hanson looking to bounce back from back to back sub par outings. Anibal Sanchez will be on the mound for the Marlins with the first pitch slated for 4:10 pm ET.
Programming Note – I am heading out on vacation immediately. That doesn’t mean that the updates will stop here at Tomahawk Take. Oh no, we have a good thing going here and we aren’t going to slow down. However, updates might be coming at different times as I get opportunities to sit down at a computer. The Minor League Scoreboard feature that I have tested out this week will return when I come back from vacation. June was our biggest month ever at Tomahawk Take and I would like to thank everyone for visiting.