3. The Atlanta Braves came within striking distance – and then some – of extending NLDS Game 1 into the bottom of the 9th.
With the Milwaukee right-handed pitchers dominating for much of the afternoon, it felt as though it would take a thump from a left-handed bat to spark things for the Atlanta Braves.
Enter Joc Pederson, the bleached-haired, pearl necklace-wearing showman who seemingly thrives on this sort of stage.
The calendar, after all, has flipped to “Joctober”.
Pederson lived up to his namesake, blasting a pinch-hit, 8th inning homer to trim the lead to 2-1, providing the Braves with a chance against Hader.
Freddie Freeman’s leadoff walk in the 9th, followed by a sharp single from Austin Riley two batters later, once again put the Atlanta Braves in a “multiple runners on with less than two outs” scenario, just as they had squandered in the 1st inning.
But the Braves went out with a whimper instead of a bang, following a dribbler in front of the plate and a routine groundout to second, leaving Freeman stranded at third.
However, there is something to be said in a postseason series about how you finish a game and how that can sometimes translate into the next game.
Maybe some late-game confidence was built against this stingy Brewers’ pitching staff.
Atlanta didn’t go down without a fight, and they made Hader labor like he is not accustomed to, forcing the Brewers’ closer to hurl 20 high-stress pitches.
Thinking optimistically, maybe that exposure will prove to be beneficial down the road in this series, though down 1-0 they now have the pressure squarely on their shoulders.
The Atlanta Braves can hope that their comeback effort, while not enough to flip the script in Game 1, might mean for a more vulnerable Brewers’ pitching staff in Game 2.