Atlanta Braves Rallied On Matt Adams’ Homer But Drops Game In 10th
By John Le
Matt Adams tied the game for the Atlanta Braves in the 9th on a 3-run homer to force extras but Jim Johnson loses game in the 10th.
The last game in this 4-game Dodger series looked daunting early on, but the Atlanta Braves got an unexpected gift early on.
Dodgers’ all-world starter Clayton Kershaw left after 2 innings with lower back tightness however the team couldn’t take advantage of it. They scored a run in the 3rd but would go the next 5 innings with only 1 hit off of replacement hurlers Ross Stripling and Luis Avilan.
Kershaw may have only gone 2 innings, but from his performance, it looked like he could’ve dominated the game. In his 2 hit-less innings, he walked just 1 and struck out a pair.
#Braves catch a break, but you really, really gotta hope this is nothing serious for Kershaw. One of the best. The game needs him.
— Kelsey Wingert-Linch (@KelsWingert) July 23, 2017
Atlanta’s starter, Sean Newcomb, had a mixed day. He went 6 innings, walking 5 but striking out 9! Early on, he struggled with command, and that showed.
He allowed only 3 hits and the points came from a 3-run homer in the 4th. Against a team like the Dodgers, that was still pretty good.
The Braves just couldn’t put on the offense for him.
What We Did get
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In the 3rd, with Ross Stripling pitching and 2 outs, Ender Inciarte drew a walk. After stealing second, Brandon Phillips doubled to right for a RBI. Braves take the lead 1-0.
It was in the 4th that Newcomb the most trouble. He gave up back-to-back walks to Logan Forsythe and Enrique Hernández to start the inning. This brought up Austin Barnes who sent one to left field for a 3-run home-run. Newcomb came back with 2 strikeouts and a line-out to end the inning but the damage was done.
Newcomb went 2 more innings, facing the minimum while serving 4 strikeouts. Another tough outing where he put up a good performance but the command issues coursed the game.
In the 8th, the Dodgers added an insurance run when Cody Bellinger hit a home-run to right. They quickly realized they needed that insurance run too.
Adams Coming In Clutch
With a 4-1 lead, the Dodgers sent out Kenley Jansen to close out the game. Jansen was currently at a 34 consecutive saves streak coming into the game.
However, he immediately gave up back-to-back singles to Freddie Freeman and Matt Kemp. Put on the Braves rally cap. This allowed the tying run to come to the plate. However Nick Markakis flied out and was followed by a Tyler Flowers line out.
The momentum seemed to die just like that.
With 2 outs, Matt Adams came to the plate. The LA fans begin to cheer for their closer to finish it.
With a 1-1 count, came one of the most clutch hits this season. Matt FREAKIN‘ Adams shot one to right field for a 3-run homer, tying the game.
You can see the stunned faces in the crowd, some with their hands on their head, jaws dropped.
Holy cow, Matt Adams has come up with some clutch hits for this team, but none bigger than that one. It's 4-4 in the 9th. #Braves
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) July 23, 2017
Fatality
In the bottom of the 9th, the Dodgers came close to walking it off there after a hit, a wild pitch and a ground-out placed Barnes at 3rd. However, Arodys Vizcaino got out of the inning when Yasmani Grandal popped up.
Eventually it came back around and in the bottom of the 10th, Jim Johnson came out to pitch. The Braves seriously need bullpen help.
At this point, you would think the Braves are done with Johnson, but he blew a big one not too long ago but here he is still.
Chris Taylor knocked a single to right to start it off. Corey Seager grounded one but the Braves couldn’t turn the double-play, only getting Taylor at 2nd.
After that, Justin Turner hit a single before the Braves intentionally walked Bellinger to load the bases. This was understandable because they did not want to face the hot hitter who hit a homer his last time up.
That problem came after when Forsythe hit a single through the middle, sending Seager home to end the game. Braves drop the series finale and tie the series with the Dodgers.
4. 17. Final. 5. 71
After the Braves started the series with explosive offense, the Dodgers seemed to figure Atlanta out a bit the next 2 games.
Next: The Legend Of Jaime 'Grand Slam' Garcia?
The Braves now fly over to Arizona for a 3 game series, the Phillies after that. R.A. Dickey gets game 1 at 9:40 pm.