The Atlanta Braves took down the Colorado Rockies 2-1 in Trust Park on Saturday afternoon.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
The bottom of the eighth inning.
Trailing 1-0 and so far unable to get anything going offensively against Rockies pitching, Atlanta briefly looked like the eighth inning was going to be more of the same. Drake Baldwin opened the frame with a first-pitch flyout, while Ronald Acuña Jr got into the sixth pitch of the at-bat before he hit a rocket to center for the second out.
But then the Braves locked in.
Matt Olson singled on a line drive to right. Mauricio Dubón then lined a single to center, doing it on a sinker up and in - seriously, he leaned back mid-swing to make space for his hands to get around the ball.
Michael Harris II then doubled them both in after his hard liner in the left-center gap was just off Carrig’s glove and rolled almost all the way to the wall. Dubón probably shouldn’t have scored from first here, as the third base coach was holding him, but he sensed/saw/gambled on the throw coming in to second base and kept running.
The two RBIs gave Atlanta the 2-1 lead and were Harris’ 76th and 77th, putting him less than ten away from his career high of 86 with a full month left to play.
Didier Fuentes then came in for his third career save, giving up a leadoff walk to Willi Castro and a one-out single but otherwise handling the Colorado lineup to seal the win.
Today’s Player of the Game
Mauricio Dubón.
Reinstated to the cleanup spot, Dubón had just the one hit and one run scored in the entire contest, but that’s not why he’s here.
Shortstop Mauricio Dubón is the Player of the Game, because his slick glove work was the difference today. With a contact-management starter on the mound in Martín Pérez, Dubón was knocking down baseballs and turning double plays, keeping those batted balls from becoming baserunners for most of the afternoon.
It started in the first, when Dubón laid out on the other side of second base to take away a single up the middle from TJ Rumfield. He began an inning-ending double play on a 106 mph screamer from Willi Castro in the 4th, and then erased a leadoff bunt single by starting his own double play off of an Ezequiel Tovar slow roller up the middle.
The two-time Gold Glove utilityman has been worth +5 Outs Above Average at shortstop this season, and his steady glove anywhere on the diamond gives Atlanta the opportunity to either give guys some loan management-style days off or insert someone at a position for a few days to see if their bat can get going.
What You’ll Be Talking About
Today’s person who got a shot to get going was Dominic Smith, who was the designated hitter and batted ninth.
It didn’t go well - Smith flew out in his only plate appearance before being pinch-hit for by Lane Thomas, who was called on to face lefty Brennan Bernardino in the 5th.
And for all the thoughts of “well, the Rockies are a team you can experiment with your lineup against, as you’re favored to win”, it took a late rally for Atlanta to not have their winning streak snapped. The idea of the Braves playing “down” to their opponents has been discussed for a few seasons now, and it’s because it keeps happening.
Just this season, they’re 1-4 against the San Francisco Giants (55-81 entering Saturday), 6-7 against the New York Mets (60-75), 1-2 against Seattle (64-71), and 2-4 versus St. Louis (68-69). In previous seasons, they’ve dropped series to the 71-91 Pirates (2025), 41-121 White Sox (2024), and the 50-112 Athletics (2023).
Let’s be clear here: Atlanta’s currently tied for the most win against teams over 500 with Milwaukee, with both teams having 37 after Saturday’s action. But it’s frustrating to also be in nothing but close games during the rare “easy” stretch of the schedule before the Braves play 16 straight against certain or likely playoff teams in Philly (seven games), the Cubs (three), the Rays (three), and the Astros (three).
My kingdom for a blowout, is what I’m saying.
What’s Next for the Braves?
The Braves will go for a sweep on Sunday afternoon, with Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.41 on the season but 2-1, 1.52 with ATL) opposite youngster Mason Adams (0-0, 2.25) at 1:35 PM ET.