Atlanta Braves Win “Baseball Gods Gave Him A Chance To Redeem”
By Jeff Schafer
The Atlanta Braves were able to get the win on Sunday afternoon against the St. Louis Cardinals 6-5.
Atlanta tied the game in the top of the 6th inning when Freddie Freeman singled in Jason Heyward and Justin Upton. The Braves then gave the lead up when Jhonny Peralta doubled in Yadier Molina in the bottom of the 7th inning making the game 5-4 Cards. In the top of the 9th inning the Braves fought their way back into the game and were able to score two runs to win the game 6-5.
“We grinded it out today,” Fredi Gonzalez said after the game. We are at the end of this road stand and everyone is tired of losing and we go out and play a grind out, battle royal at the end there.”
The Cards got the lead back in the 7th inning when Jordan Schafer lost a fly ball off of Peralta‘s bat in center field. The ball fell and it allowed Molina to score.
Schafer, obviously upset about the play, was able to get back in good fortune as he took a walk in the 9th inning with the bases loaded to score Freddie Freeman.
#Braves Schafter: "Thank God we were able to pull out a victory because if we had lost on that it wouldn’t have been a good flight home.”
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 18, 2014
#Braves Schafer: “It was nice to be given a chance to kind of redeem myself a little bit. I was trying to go up there and compete."
— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) May 18, 2014
“The baseball Gods gave him a chance to redeem himself and he did with a really good at bat,” Gonzalez said.
May 18, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Atlanta Braves center fielder
Jordan Schafer(17) is unable to make a play during the seventh inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. The Braves won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Scott Kane-USA TODAY Sports
The 9th inning was huge for the Braves as they were able to score two runs, take the led and win the final game of the road trip. Freeman led off with a single, then after Chris Johnson and Andrelton Simmons recorded outs, Ryan Doumit doubled down the right field line putting Freeman on third.
“I just wanted to get something I could drive and I jumped all over that first fastball,” Doumit said.
Evan Gattis was intentionally walked to load the bases for Schafer. A great at bat for Schafer, drew a walk on a pretty decent pitch by Trevor Rosenthal to score Freeman. Game tied at 5-5.
After the walk to Schafer, the Cardinals took Rosenthal out for Carlos Martinez who threw a wild pitch and scored Doumit. Braves lead 6-5.
“Right when it rolled pass him, I saw the opportunity,” Doumit said. “You have to take a chance in a situation like that. I got a favorable bounce back there but I was going regardless.”
Craig Kimbrel shut the down in the bottom of the 9th inning to pick up his 11 save of the season.
“100% better, your stomach feels better,” said Gonzalez when asked about getting the victory and not being swept. “But we know we’ve got Milwaukee coming in and they are a tough bunch of guys but it was nice to get the win. We’ll keep pushing.”
Monday – Mike Minor vs Wily Peralta
Tuesday – Julio Teheran vs Yovani Gallardo
Wednesday – Ervin Santana vs Kyle Lohse
Thursday – Aaron Harang vs Matt Garza