The five best Atlanta Braves wins from a magical first half of 2019

It’s in the nature of those who love sports with an undying passion to reflect on the memories that make a season – Atlanta Braves fans are no different.

So with Braves news slowed a bit due to the All-Star break earlier this week, now is a wonderful time to look back and remember the moments of what was an indescribably magical first half for the first-place Atlanta Braves.

This is a team with storylines bursting from every direction.

The phenomenal wonder of the young players, the commanding leadership of the veterans.

Stories of redemption. Stories of coming back home.

Rookie of the year candidates, All-Star talents, Rain-Bringers, record-breakers, walk-offs, gold chains, bat flips,  and a helmet bouncing off as a speedy Brave races around the bases.

It’s a season that has – to this point – left one nearly overwhelmed with enthusiasm, asking, “What more can this team do?”

While the answer to that question won’t be answered fully until (hopefully) very late October, what we can do is look back at the individual moments that have made 2019 special so far.

So here we are: sit back and enjoy, reflect, and remember the Top Five Braves Games in the first half of the 2019 season (and a few others, too).

Full disclosure: when I began reflecting/researching for this writing, my list of potential “best” games grew to as many as 19! Even then, I still felt as if I were neglecting a few others.

It was quite difficult to leave many of these off the Top Five, but they’re no less important in what has been a truly magical season in Atlanta.

Honorable Mentions

• Johan Camargo delivers a game-winner…twice.

It might be easy to skip over a couple of high-drama victories for the Braves in which Johan Camargo delivered the deciding blow. True, his numbers aren’t what they were in 2018, but the Atlanta utility man still comes through when it counts.

The first of which came way back on April 3rd against the Cubs, just the fifth game of the season, when Camargo – with the Braves trailing Chicago 4-2 in the 8th inning – nailed a bases-clearing double to the outfield gap, ultimately giving the Braves a win.

“Camar-goat” came through in the clutch again versus the Nationals on June 23rd, when his 10th-inning, pinch-hit blast propelled the Braves to a key 4-3 victory.

• Acuna gets his bat-flipping revenge

Every storybook season has to have its share of villains, and this villain – the Marlins’ Jose Urena – cemented his role as such in 2018 when he intentionally threw at Braves’ phenom Ronald Acuna, Jr.

The Braves got the last laugh – more than once.

The first of which came on May 3rd, when a redemption-seeking Kevin Gausman threw behind Urena with a payback pitch, then the Braves overwhelmed the Marlins starter for 5 runs in 6 innings. The second time? Acuna got his, destroying a Urena pitch in a June 7th contest, and admiring the home run for quite some time with the best bat flip of the season.

• Acuna, batting leadoff, hits the go-ahead shot

Those who have paid close attention to the 2019 Braves season know the importance of the game that took place on May 10th in Arizona.

The 2-1 triumph over the Diamondbacks might not be the “best” Braves win to date, but you could make a strong argument that it was the most impactful.

The lineup shuffle – which moved Ronald Acuna, Jr. to leadoff, Dansby Swanson to second, and Josh Donaldson to cleanup – paid immediate dividends when, in a tie ballgame in the 8th inning, Acuna stepped to the plate – with two outs – from his new spot in the order and banged out a go-ahead home run.

And the Braves haven’t slowed down since.

• Austin Riley’s dramatic debut

This game on May 15th vs the Cardinals was special for a number of reasons – Mike Soroka pitched a 7-inning shutout, for one – but it will always be remembered for Austin Riley’s first career major league home run.

In just his second at-bat ever in the big leagues, Riley, with family members in attendance, sent a pitch over the outfield wall, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

• Riley, Albies lift Braves to walk-off win in 11-inning thriller

Crazy things tend to happen when the Braves hook up with the Pirates.

The 11-inning affair on June 12th was another chapter to that book, especially when Austin Riley added to his folklore-like status by smashing a game-tying homer in the 9th inning. Even more so when Ozzie Albies doubled to the outfield, scoring Riley, in the decisive 11th.

It must be said…there are countless others worthy of mention. You could go up and down through this season’s highlights.

It’s just been that kind of magic in Atlanta so far, with hopefully lots more to come.

With that said, here’s (finally) your Top Five.

5. May 26th – Braves 4, Cardinals 3 (10 innings)

Here’s your setup: Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN, so national eyes on a couple of teams with two of the largest fanbases in baseball: the Braves and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Things weren’t going well early for Atlanta.

In fact, after 8 innings, the Braves had been completely bogged down offensively, held to 0 runs on just 4 hits by the St. Louis pitching, most of which done by Jack Flaherty.

The score stood 3-0 in favor of the Redbirds, and three little outs in the 9th would’ve finished the job.

To the average observer, there was but little hope for Atlanta.

But as they’d done times before, the Braves had other plans in mind.

It started when the first four batters reached base in the 9th, including RBI hits from Josh Donaldson and Austin Riley, closing the gap to 3-2 and setting up the heroics of Ozzie Albies.

The Big Moment

Let’s be clear: you’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive “stay with it” at-bat so far in 2019 than the one Ozzie Albies put up in the 9th in a one-run game.

Jumping ahead in the count 3-0, the Braves second baseman then proceeded to foul off six consecutive pitches, preserving hope that Atlanta could continue its comeback.

On the tenth pitch of the at-bat, Ozzie delivered with a single to right to tie the game.

The clutch hit extended things into the 10th, where patience paid off for Atlanta.

The Braves had the bases loaded with two outs, when grizzled veteran Brian McCann stepped in and watched ball four go by, scoring Freddie Freeman and giving Atlanta a 4-3 lead in front of the incredulous St. Louis fans.

The Braves had no business winning this game: the Cardinals dominated up-and-down for 8 innings.

But as the old baseball saying goes, there’s 27 outs, and those last three are often the hardest ones to get.

Atlanta flat-out stole this one from the jaws of defeat – plain and simple.

4. June 22nd – Braves 13, Nationals 9

Nothing quite sends a message to a division rival like a comeback win, especially one that sees your team come back not once, but twice, before blowing right past the competition.

Freddie Freeman said it best after this topsy-turvy Atlanta Braves victory over the Washington Nationals on June 22nd:

”It just doesn’t matter what inning it is, what score it is, we’re coming,” Freeman said. ”We’re relentless. I think we’ve proven that over and over again.”

Consider that quote to be the projection of every Atlanta Braves player in 2019. It’s been a special year for a team that has made its modus operandi quite clear: never, ever give up.

Washington did everything they could to put away the Braves.

The Nationals jumped out to a 5-1 by the end of the 3rd, as they touched up Atlanta starter Mike Foltynewicz.

The relentless effort of the Braves trimmed the deficit to 5-4 after RBI hits from veterans Nick Markakis and Freddie Freeman, but the Nationals swayed momentum back in their favor with a four-run 5th.

The Braves couldn’t do it again...could they?

The Big Moment

In the 7th inning, that never-say-die persistence of the Braves paid off once more.

With patience as their motto against an unstable Nats ‘pen, Atlanta walked the bases loaded, then took another walk to bring in a run.

Freeman, he of the aforementioned “relentless” quote, spoke even louder with his actions.

When the All-Star first baseman ripped a double to the outfield gap, the scoreboard then read 8-8, and the thousands of jubilant Braves fans in attendance drowned out the home D.C. crowd, most of whom sat in frozen shock.

An inning later, the realization of had come full circle: Dansby Swanson crushed a three-run homer to bury the Nationals.

The comeback was complete.

“Relentless” was right.

3. July 7th – Braves 4, Marlins 3

Sure, it’s the freshest in our memories, with it having been the last game prior to the All-Star Break, so we’re admittedly partial to this one.

Nevertheless, Charlie Culberson’s strike to home plate to gun down a game-tying run in the 9th inning is made up of the kind of dramatic lore that will keep that play engraved into our favorites in the years to come.

Maybe there have been other defensive plays in Braves history that were more “spectacular” in nature – Otis Nixon and Andruw Jones come to mind – but as far as a particular play that single-handedly swayed the entire outcome of an inning, perhaps a ballgame? It’d be difficult to find one more important than this.

The situation couldn’t have been more problematic.

Atlanta led the Marlins 4-3 entering the 9th, backed by a strong performance from Dallas Keuchel, who tossed a shutout through the game’s first seven innings.

The Marlins, however, had come storming back with three runs in the 8th, and promptly loaded the bases against closer Luke Jackson in the 9th, with no outs.

Add another chapter to the story of Charlie Clutch.

The Big Moment

Charlie Culberson, utility extraordinaire and everyone’s favorite underdog, has shown time and time again why he is the quiet MVP of the Braves.

He’s affectionately referred to among the fanbase as “Charlie Clutch” for his propensity for big plays in big moments.

After he entered the game late as a defensive replacement, he found himself in yet another one of those high-drama situations.

With the bases loaded and nobody out in a 4-3 game in the 9th, Culberson snagged a line shot off the bat of Neil Walker. Then, with his body still sprinting towards the left-center gap, “Clutch” gunned a 91.7-mph throw from left field to home plate that was…absolutely perfect.

The incredible 7-2 double play that gunned down Jorge Alfaro at the plate – with a terrific tag by catcher Brian McCann, mind you – changed the entire flow of the inning, and the Atlanta Braves, of course, went on to win 4-3.

Beyond the story of a single victory, though, is the fact that Charlie Culberson, once again embracing his do-whatever-it-takes role, gave the Braves fans a moment they won’t soon forget.

2. April 20th – Braves 8, Indians 7

The bitter chill in the Cleveland, Ohio air didn’t help matters when the Braves quickly found themselves trailing the Indians by a score of 7-0 after the game’s first two innings.

The atmosphere wasn’t the only thing that felt cold, as the Braves’ bats appeared to be downright frozen through the first half of the game against Cleveland starter Trevor Bauer.

Atlanta had been in some kind of funk after being swept by Arizona that week, then dropping the first game of the doubleheader against Cleveland, dipping the team’s record below .500.

After Cleveland had taken its 7-0 lead, the Indians sat at a 97% Win Probability.

This early-season contest, though, served as the first great example of the kind of mettle that the Atlanta Braves would trademark throughout the first half.

The Braves knew their only hope of climbing the mountain ahead of them was to do a little bit at a time.

And climb, they did.

Atlanta knew it probably couldn’t compete with Trevor Bauer that night in Cleveland, so the Braves hitters did what it took to get him out of the game: a defend-the-zone approach of fouling off pitches and extending the counts to force Bauer to labor in the chilly weather.

The approach was a success, as a very frustrated Bauer, despite his 10-strikeout performance, was forced out in the 7th after throwing 120 pitches.

Dansby Swanson greeted the Cleveland bullpen with a two-run homer upon Bauer’s exit, though Atlanta still trailed 7-3 – with a 98% Cleveland Win Probability – entering the 9th.

The Big Moment

Down to their final out, the top of the Braves order climbed the mountain a bit at a time.

Ozzie Albies hit a single to score two, while Josh Donaldson and Freddie Freeman both walked to bring in another.

Enter Ronald Acuna, Jr.

The Braves’ young phenom helped the Braves reach the mountain summit when he laced a double to left field that drove in both the tying and go-ahead runs, sending a wave of elation through the Atlanta dugout.

The improbable had happened: from down 7-0 to up 8-7! The Win Probability shifted all the way to 83% in Atlanta’s favor with Acuna’s decisive double, and the Braves would not relinquish the lead in the bottom of the 9th.

After the game, the confident hero Acuna stated firmly:

”Of course, we’ve never given up, we’ve never surrendered,” Acuna said. ”We’re going to keep at it until that 27th out. That never changes.”