Braves rally late to tie Rays, 3-3

The Atlanta Braves scored two runs in the eighth inning to come away with a 3-3 tie against the Tampa Bay Rays. Offense was hard to come by early in the game for the Braves as the starting lineup went a combined 1-for-18 with the only hit coming from Austin Riley which was his first of the spring.

The Braves would eventually get some help from their bench players as Tyler Tolve knocked in Justin Dean for an RBI single to make the score 2-1 in the sixth. Atlanta entered the eighth trailing 3-1 but tied the game on a pair of hits by Justin Dean and Adeiny Hechavarria.

Braden Shewmake nearly won the game in the ninth as he doubled off of the base of the wall in right center. However, he was left stranded as Atlanta recorded their second tie of the spring.

Jesse Chavez was solid today for the Braves as he pitched the first two innings allowing just one hit while recording three strikeouts. Kirby Yates made his spring debut and struck out one, but was tagged for a solo home run by Jose Lowe in the third inning. Nick Anderson also made his Braves debut and looked impressive with two strikeouts in a scoreless frame. Yacksel Rios, Brian Moran, Roddery Munoz and Seth Elledge covered the final five innings allowing four hits and one run.

The Braves will move on to play the division rival New York Mets Thursday, that game will take place at Clover Park in Port St. Lucie. Kolby Allard is slated to get the start on the mound.