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The Braves played a delightfully weird baseball game on Saturday evening. It was delightful because despite a home run from Bryce Harper that may not have landed yet and a strong start from the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler, the Braves were able to keep things close thanks partially to a two-run homer from Austin Riley and then walked things off in the bottom of the ninth to win 6-5.
The Braves were behind most of the evening, but that doesn’t seem to phase this team much. After Riley’s two run homer to get within a couple of runs, the Braves were able to score three more in the eighth to snag the lead.
That is when things got weird. Mark Melancon had an adventure of an inning when he came on for the save which included Snitker inexplicably leaving him in in a bases loaded situation against Bryse Harper when it was clear that he didn’t have it last night. Harper got the fly ball the Phillies needed and, despite a fantastic throw from Cristian Pache, the Phils tied the game.
Luckily it didn’t matter because even though Brandon Workman is a new face in the Phillies bullpen, the plague that has beset them still applies to him. The Braves nearly got a walkoff gift from the umpires when a routine force out was called safe at the plate, but that got sorted out by the umps. Adam Duvall made sure to end things properly with a walk-off single to push the Braves’ record to 16-11.
More Braves News
Ronald Acuña Jr. ranked #1 trade asset in MLB, Ozzie Albies #6
It is hardly a surprise that in terms of trade value, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies are extremely highly valued. They are both young, insanely good, and signed to long-term team-friendly deals...all of which carry significant value on the trade market. In fact, Fangraphs put out their rankings of the Top 50 players in terms of trade value where Acuna came in number one overall and Albies came in sixth.
Braves prospect retrospect: Ryan Klesko
While we are often focused very much on the present and future of the Braves here at Talking Chop, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t fun to remember the past. Our own Wayne Cavadi took a look at the path that Ryan Klesko and that Captain Caveman-esque swing of his took as a prospect as well as his legacy as an Atlanta Brave.
MLB News
Cubs change course, put Bryant on IL
The Chicago Cubs seemed to be poised to NOT place Kris Bryant on the injured list due to a hand/wrist injury with manager David Ross being somewhat optimistic that he wouldn’t miss but a couple games. Unfortunately for Chicago, it looks like they didn’t like what they saw when they examined him and decided that an IL stint was the best course after all.
Stras to have season-ending hand surgery
Stephen Strasburg’s nerve issues with his hand have been a big topic of conversation for the defending champion Nationals especially given their struggles thus far in 2020. After being diagnosed with carpal tunnel neuritis, the Nationals shut Strasburg down for the rest of the season and is going to have surgery to hopefully fix the issue.