The Braves entered the night with a chance to secure the division title, but the path there wasn’t exactly inviting. Atlanta had Martin Perez on the mound while Houston countered with Hunter Brown, setting up a difficult pitching matchup in a game with plenty at stake.
Both teams had opportunities almost immediately, although neither could turn them into runs. Drake Baldwin opened the game with a walk, and an Astros error gave Atlanta another chance in the top of the first. Houston answered with three soft singles in the bottom half, but Perez navigated the traffic without allowing a run.
That became the theme of the early innings. Baserunners appeared, threats developed, and then disappeared before anyone could do damage.
Altuve Breaks the Deadlock
Jose Altuve finally changed that in the fourth. The Astros second baseman put Houston on the board with a solo homer, breaking the scoreless tie and forcing Atlanta to chase the game against Brown.
Ronald Acuna Jr. allowed the Braves to answer in the fifth, but Matt Olson couldn’t convert it. Houston then threatened to make the missed chance considerably more painful.
Two singles and a walk against Perez loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the fifth. That ended Perez’s night and put Victor Mederos in a difficult spot. With Houston positioned to expand its lead, Mederos delivered exactly what Atlanta needed. He struck out and then induced a groundout, escaping the inning without allowing another run.
The importance of that escape became obvious almost immediately.
Yastrzemski Turns the Game Around For The Braves
Michael Harris II walked to begin the sixth, and Mauricio Dubon followed with a fortunate double that suddenly put runners at second and third with nobody out. After spending much of the night failing to capitalize on its opportunities, Atlanta finally broke through.
Ozzie Albies drove home the first run with an RBI single, tying the game.
Then Mike Yastrzemski blew it open.
Yastrzemski launched a three-run homer, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 4-1 Braves advantage in a matter of minutes. After five innings of frustration, Atlanta had finally found the big swing it needed.
The next development was potentially just as interesting.
Smith-Shawver Brings Triple-Digit Heat
AJ Smith-Shawver came out of the Braves bullpen and immediately looked comfortable in the role. His fastball touched 100 mph as he struck out two Astros during a perfect sixth inning. Atlanta sent him back out for the seventh, and Smith-Shawver responded with two more strikeouts while working around a ground-ball single.
Two innings. Four strikeouts. No runs.
For a Braves team entering the postseason with only two established playoff starters, Smith-Shawver’s effectiveness in a multi-inning relief role could give Atlanta another option for handling the middle innings.
Ray Kerr took over in the eighth and surrendered a shallow home run that trimmed Atlanta’s advantage to 4-2. He kept it from getting worse, though, recording a strikeout and two groundouts to preserve the two-run lead.
That left Dylan Dodd with the ninth.
The Atlanta offense had added no insurance, so Dodd took the mound to protect a 4-2 lead, with the division title potentially waiting on the other side of three outs.
