Today's Three Things: 'Smith opened a bottle of Dom on ’em'
Designated hitter Dom Smith snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for the Braves, keeping the hopes of a series win alive.
The Atlanta Braves took down the Miami Marlins by the score of 6-5 in Truist Park on Tuesday night.
Here is Today’s Three Things from the contest.
The Turning Point
The bottom of the 8th.
Atlanta was on their heels from the jump, down 1-0 after the first inning, 4-0 before they came up to bat in the second inning, and 5-3 when they came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth.
With Drake Baldwin leading off for Atlanta, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough sent closer Pete Fairbanks out to try and secure the win. We don’t know if Fairbanks would have gone for the six-out save, but it didn’t matter in the end.
Baldwin opened with a leadoff single, shooting a 0-1 fastball that was down and in to the opposite field. After two quick outs, coming from a Matt Olson strikeout and an Austin Riley pop fly, Mike Yastrzemski kept the rally alive with a single on a 1-1 elevated fastball. Ozzie Albies then wore a 2-1 cutter to load the bases for the hero of the night, Dom Smith.
Even then, it almost didn’t happen - Smith quickly went down 0-2 and started fouling everything off remotely near the zone. And then Fairbanks grooved a 87 mph cutter, middle-middle, on a platter.
And Smith didn’t miss it.
(What about that call from Brandon Gaudin? Just fantastic.)
All three runners came in to score, staking Atlanta to a 6-5 lead that Raisel Iglesias would not relinquish in the top of the 9th.
It’s an impressive piece of hitting - sending that pitch to the opposite field and splitting the outfielders - nevermind getting there in the first place after being down 0-2 and fouling off multiple other close pitches just to get to a mistake pitch and take advantage.
Walt Weiss played a hand in this, as well. After Smith singled to lead off the 7th inning, Atlanta’s manager declined to pinch-run for Smith, leaving him on first instead of sending out the speedster Jorge Mateo. That proved prescient, as Mateo would have been the one to come around and take the pivotal at-bat in the 8th.
Today’s Player of the Game
Believe it or not, it’s Dom Smith. He’s already responsible for Atlanta’s two biggest hits/moments of the season, between this and his walk off grand slam in the season’s opening weekend. He’s more than earned his $1.25M salary for this season, no matter what happens from this point forward, but his story in Atlanta is far from over.
Smith’s still shown the chase issues that have plagued him for his career, but he’s also currently posting career best marks in whiff rate (17.3%) and average exit velocity (90.7 mph), reinforcing Statcast’s assertion that his exemplary performance early this season is almost entirely earned.
Smith’s postgame interview on BravesVision was incredibly rewarding, as well.
It’s clear that not only does Smith enjoy being in Atlanta and genuinely like being a member of this roster, but that it’s a mutual admiration society in the clubhouse and he’s loved just as much as he’s giving.
These are the types of moments that we look back at after a team wins the World Series and identify as the one that changed the trajectory of the club.
What You’ll Be Talking About
Atlanta’s current #2 starter wasn’t his usual self early, allowing four runs in the first two frames of this one. The first inning’s run was a typical “small ball” manufactured run, with a single, a throwing error, and a sacrifice fly bringing in Miami’s first run.
But the second inning was a nightmare scenario for López, with a leadoff walk begetting three stolen bases, three singles, another double, and three total runs on the board. López needed 33 pitches to get out of the 2nd, putting him at 52 after the first two innings, and there was open speculation on the broadcast if he’d be able to come back or if his day would be over despite Atlanta not having a long man available out of the pen.
López instead stabilized things, facing just one batter over the minimum to finish five innings with what ended up being a no-decision. Part of the issue tonight was his inability to miss bats, getting just five whiffs on 31 swings and only one on his slider. His locations were okay, commonly grouping just off the edge of the plate, but Miami wasn’t prone to chasing and was making solid contact on the occasions they did. He finally adjusted by going to the curveball, ending up with three whiffs on four swings and three additional called strikes on the breaker.
After the three earned runs in five innings tonight, López’s ERA on the season is now 2.18.
Looking for more discussion about this game?
Here’s tonight’s Postcast, with me and Locked On Braves host Jake Mastroianni, as we went live to break down the comeback win.
What’s Next for the Braves?
Atlanta’s looking to take the series over Miami tomorrow night in the finale. Bryce Elder (1-1, 1.02 ERA) gets the ball for the Braves, while the Marlins are sending offseason free agent signing Chris Paddack (0-2, 6.14 ERA) to the Truist Park mound.
A come-from-behind win is the ultimate baseball rush.