Atlanta Braves: Takeaways from win in Game 2 against the Cardinals

2. Scratchin’ and clawing

So if there was any doubt regarding just how talented the Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty is… surely his outing on Friday raised some awareness.

The Atlanta Braves lineup was just better, which should really increase the general belief that in fact this Braves team is very well built and plenty talented enough to go all the way.

We knew Flaherty was their man and that Cardinals’ manager, Mike Shildt, was going to ride him until the wheels came off. Credit the Braves for having a gameplan…  though most of all, credit them for executing it.

It’s one thing to have a plan, but totally different when it comes to putting it to work in a critical game that you know you must win.

So yeah, I’m super impressed with what the Braves did on Friday night, but not just because it resulted in high-fives at the center of the infield.

Like they managed in Game 1, they scratched and clawed and produced a run in the early portion of the game — an RBI single off the bat of Josh Donaldson, scoring Ozzie Albies.

But I’m even more impressed with how the team fought after that, once both pitchers were settled in and neither team was budging a bit.

Flaherty still did his thing: 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, BB, 8 K.

But Folty’s excellence coupled with the Braves’ lineup’s ability to push Flaherty’s pitch count up to the Danger Zone, ultimately allowing Adam Duvall (pinch-hitting for Folty in the 8th) to jump on a 3-2 fastball and crush it over the center field wall.

Flaherty had began to wear out. You could tell as he faced the last few batters his slider had started to lose its bite, which in turn caused him go find himself in one too many full counts — causing perfect fastball scenarios.

In a tight game with neither side willing to give in one bit… a breaking ball that doesn’t quite break or a fastball that catches too much of the zone can be the difference between a win or a loss.