For the third straight night, the Braves miraculously come from behind to win in 11 innings. And the big hero on the night was Chipper Jones with a huge three-run walk-off homerun. The homer was his first in 70 at-bats, a shot that was way overdue. Chipper also tied the game on a fielder's choice in the ninth (which should have been a double play).
The Marlins once again played tough, and kept coming back themselves, but the Braves took advantage of getting the last at-bat. And Oscar Villarreal got l-u-c-k-y again, for the second time in this series. He picked up his sixth win, and second of the series, after giving up the go-ahead run to the Marlins in the top of the eleventh.
The bottom of the eleventh started out with a single by Marcus Giles, and then a spectacular at-bat by Edgar Renteria produced a walk to move Giles into scoring position. But it was Chipper Jones who was in scoring position when he walked to the plate.
We are now at .500 and have a chance to get over .500 tomorrow afternoon, but the ever-volatile Jorge Sosa will be on the mound. Perhaps he will get the memo this time; he needs to have his best outing so far this season.
Florida 4, Atlanta 6 in 11 innings at Turner Field
Florida Record: (11-27)
Atlanta Record: (20-20)
Winning pitcher - Oscar Villarreal (6-0)
Losing pitcher - Randy Messenger (0-3)