Game Recap: Wild Throws in the Series Finale, Braves Lose a Hard-Fought Game Three

After a shutout win Friday, and a thrilling comeback win Saturday, the Braves are looking to sweep the San Francisco Giants in the final match of the series. The Braves will have Max Fried going tonight, who has looked back to normal since his return from injury. The Giants will send out Jakob Junis, who has been effective over the last month, but typically only pitches 2-3 innings each performance.

Game Summary

Fried started the day with a quick out on only the second pitch, but the Giants would begin to rally. Thairo Estrada followed up, knocking a single to left-center. Then Wilmer Flores hit a 101-mph grounder off Austin Riley to bring runners to first and second. Fried would bounce a curveball off Sean Murphy, pushing both runners to second a third and eventually walking Patrick Baily on five pitches. It seemed as if Max had enough with the bases now loaded. He would strike out J.D. Davis on 5 pitches, with an angry, high four-seamer to get the strikeout, followed by a quick groundout to Nicky Lopez to end the inning.

In the bottom of the first, Junis would start by throwing eight pitches to Ronald Acuña Jr. leading to a ground out, and another quick ground out from Rosario. Riley, batting third, would knock a single down the left field line for Atlanta's first hit. Matt Olson stepped into the box, looking to add to his league-leading 108 RBIs, vs. a pitcher that throws nearly all sliders. After Riley stole second, Olson would fly out to deep center, just short of a home run.

The second would start with rookie Luis Matos hitting a solo-home run 441 feet to left center, giving San Francisco the first lead of the afternoon. Before the Matos shot, Fried had not given up a home run since May 5th. Three quick outs later, that would be all the damage the Giants could muster in the inning, keeping the score 1-0.

Marcel Ozuna Started off the bottom of the second, working a full count until Angel Hernandez called a low ball for a strikeout. Sean Murphy would then make Junis work after fouling off multiple sliders and hit a soft grounder to Casey Schmitt. Schmitt would cough up the ball leading to Murphy reaching base on an error. Kevin Pillar hit into a fielder's choice, bringing Orlando Arcia up with two outs. As Jeff Francouer said in the booth, a righty had to take Junis deep, and Orlando would do just that with a 408-ft bomb into the left-center bullpen. His 14th home run of the year would end the day for Juis, Atlanta now leading 2-1. The Giants looked to former Brave (and UGA Bulldog) Alex Wood to continue eventually getting the third out.

The lead would not last long. San Francisco's Estrada would notch his second hit of the day, just inside the left-field line for a double. Wilmer Flores saw a hanging slider which he did not miss. Bailey shot the slider 401 ft to left, the third to go into the bullpen, and the Giants regained the lead 3-2. Max would see his pitch count climb up to 68 pitches, as San Fran would put runners on the corners before getting out of the inning, limiting the score to a one-run deficit.

Eddie Rosario continued his hot-hitting stretch in the bottom of the third, knocking a single over Schmitt. Nevertheless, Riley would follow with a double play, then a weak ground ball from Olson to first to end the inning.

While there was not much action in the fourth for either team, Fried started to find his groove gathering his first 1-2-3 inning. Tristan Beck, who the Braves drafted, came in to replace Wood. A stumble from the Giants' pitcher led to a 10-minute delay for the grounds crew to fix the mound. When returning to the pristine hill, Beck struck out two while giving up a single to Pillar before ending the inning.

Fried, who looked like he may end the day early, got through the fifth with just twelve pitches. A hard line drive from Flores allowed Max to make an excellent juggling catch. With just a single given up and another three fast outs, Max still had some juice to relieve the Atlanta bullpen. The bottom of the fifth started with Nicky Lopez stringing his second single of the game. However, the inning would end quickly after an Acuña double play and Rosario strikeout.

Fried's day would end with the second out of the sixth inning. While it was up and down for him, and the Giants snagged two home runs, Fried did well in limiting damage and settling down in the last two innings. Overall, the lefty would go 5.2 innings, allowing nine hits, one walk, and six strikeouts. Michael Tonkin finished off the sixth, striking out Michael Conforto. 

In what seemed like a day of playing countless former Braves, Luke Jackson came in the bottom of the seventh. For all the pulse-raising performances he put us through (many good), Jackson has been pitching well for San Francisco this year, holding a 2.37 ERA since coming back from injury in late May. The reliever would need just five pitches to get three outs, keeping the Giants' lead at 3-2.

Tonkin would go on to finish the eighth and was absolutley dealing . The 33-year-old Vet went 2.1 innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and four strikeouts. Not giving San Francisco any momentum, Tonkin was essential in keeping the game tight and resting the pen to give the Braves life in the bottom of the eight.

In a questionable move, Vaughn Grissom came in to pinch-hit for Nicky Lopez and stuck out looking leading off the bottom of the eighth. Next up, Acuña walked, giving Atlanta their first base runner since the fifth. The Braves' hottest hitter, Rosario, stepped in the box and gave Taylor Rogers a tough at bat. Atlanta, who hadn't walked in 16 innings, got their second in a row thanks to a nine-pitch ab from Eddie, chasing Rogers and bringing in Camilo Doval.

Austin Riley squared off with Doval and found himself up 3-0 in the count before Camilo came back and struck him out. Yet the Braves seem to always find a way. With one pitch to Olson, Acuña stole third, leading to an ugly throw from Giants catcher Bailey. With the toss sailing into left field, Acuña was able to casually take home, tying the game 3-3. San Francisco intentionally walked Olson before striking out Ozuna on eight fastballs. Nonetheless, the Braves put the pressure on and kept finding late magic since the break.

Kirby Yates would start the top of the ninth, giving up a walk to Conforto on eight pitches. While he began with an 0-2 count vs. Estrada, a fastball rode inside, putting batters on first and second. The next batter would be similar, as Yates hit Wilmer Flores to load the bases with no outs. However, Yates returned with two quick strikeouts before Gabe Kapler wanted to put Joc Pederson in to pinch hit. In just four pitches, Yates walked in the fourth run, putting the Giants back on top 4-3. Collin McHugh finished the inning on a soft fly to center, but the Braves were down to their final three outs.

However, the Braves' luck would run out in the bottom of the ninth. With the heavy throwing Doval still out, Sean Murphy and Kevin Pillar would hit ground outs to third before Arcia struck out in the last at-bat.

Overall, it was a back-and-forth game where both teams had chances to pull away. The Braves put the pressure on and made it interesting until the final pitch, yet San Francisco played about as well of a bullpen game as possible. Eventually, all the walks in the ninth inning, even though only one run was given up, was the straw that broke the camel's back. The overall series was still a win, and the Bravos have much to look forward to with an easier rest of the month.

What's Next

The Braves will host the Mets for a three game series at home. The teams matched up just two series ago with the Braves taking three of four in Queens. The slumping Mets have traded much of their older talent, and will continue to seek for any positives in their forgetable season. While there is not much to highlight on the Mets, some young players like Francisco Alvarez are starting to show their talent. Still, look for the Braves to continue to assert their dominance over the NL East and extend their league leading record.

For Monday's matchup, the Braves will most likely call up Allan Winans, who has looks great in his first two games as a rookie. In Winans last start, which was against the Mets, the righty went seven innings giving up no runs and four hits He will square off with David Peterson, who has struggled this year going 3-7 with a 5.45 ERA.

Pitchers of Record

W: Camilo Doval: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 29 NPIT

L: Kirby Yates: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 26 NPIT

Braves Pitchers

Max Fried: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 103 NPIT

Michael Tonkin: 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 47 NPIT

Kirby Yates: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 26 NPIT

Collin McHugh: 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 3 NPIT

Next Game:

August 22nd vs. New York Mets, 7:20 PM ET

Truist Park