Braves: Ronald Acuna Jr. Steps Up in Ozzie Albies’ Return
Ozzie Albies returns for the Atlanta Braves on Friday night and his best buddy Ronald Acuna Jr. delivers the heroics with a big home run late.
It looked like it might be another tough night for the Atlanta Braves offense, but a six-run eighth inning quickly changed the night around.
Through the first seven innings of the game on Friday the Braves had just 1 run on 2 hits — both from William Contreras.
They allowed Ranger Suarez to carve them up for 6 innings.
But this Braves offense, even when it’s struggling, can hang a big number quickly.
That’s exactly what happened in the eighth inning on Friday night with the Braves trailing 2-1. And it all started with a leadoff walk from pinch-hitter Eddie Rosario.
And then this happened…
¡La Bestia!@ronaldacunajr24 | #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/qtmfgjc35Y
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 17, 2022
Ronald Acuna Jr. isn’t having the type of season he was hoping to come have coming off an ACL tear, but moments like this remind you of just how good he is and how it is when he’s playing well and delivering these types of moments.
Perhaps it’s a coincidence, but his buddy comes back and he has maybe his best moment of the year to this point…
And Ozzie Albies would join in on the fun as well in the sixth-run eighth with a 2-RBI bloop double that found no man’s land.
Contreras finished the game with 3 hits, including another big RBI in that eighth inning to stretch the lead to 4-2.
While it was great to see the offense finally break out, we can’t forget about the great pitching that kept them in this game.
Max Fried battled through 6 innings throwing 110 pitches but allowed just 2 earned runs on a couple of solo shots.
It was the eighth start in a row he’s allowed 2 earned runs or less and gone at least 5 innings.
Collin McHugh, Dylan Lee, and Jesse Chavez kept the score 2-1. And then with Kenley Jansen unavailable (still not sure why), Raisel Iglesias came on in the ninth inning in what ended up being a non-save situation.
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The comeback win was even bigger as the New York Mets won on Friday, and the Braves have Jake Odorizzi going on Saturday against Aaron Nola.