At this point it should come as no shock that the result between the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves would come down to the wire.
It should also come as no shock that the young duo of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies would be the two coming up big to give the Braves a victory over the Cubs.
What You Need to Know: Just like last night, Carl Edwards Jr. took the mound in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score tied at one. Once again, Edwards Jr. stepped off the mound with the Braves in the lead.
Tonight it began with a triple from Albies to right-center field that just missed the glove of a diving Albert Almora. Quickly thereafter Acuña Jr. drove in the go-ahead run with a single to left field.
Edwards Jr.’s struggles continued in the inning, eventually coming out of the game after walking Tyler Flowers with the bases loaded.
After another run was walked in, the Braves handed the ball to closer Arodys Vizcaino with a 4-1 lead. Which was more than enough for him, as he went three up, three down to earn his eighth save of the season.
Next Level: Going to tonight’s game, Cubs hitters had to be looking forward to facing veteran starter Brandon McCarthy. This season with the Braves he has posted a 4.92 FIP over eight starts, highest amongst all Braves starters.
McCarthy over six innings held the Cubs to one run on five hits. astruck outout eight batters while walking two.
Tyler Chatwood put together a fine outing tonight, going 5 1/3 innings giving up one earned run on four hits. The right hander looked befuddled when manager Joe Maddon pulled him in the sixth inning after only throwing 79 pitches.
The amor for Almora continues, after another spectacular catch from the center fielder. Almora climbed the center field fence to rob Tyler Flowers of a home run. It’s hard to not see Almora Jr. in contention for a Gold Glove award should he continue to defend like this throughout the season.
Top WPA Play: Kris Bryant single that drove in Ian Happ in the fifth inning. (+.127)
Bottom WPA Play: Albies triple in the eighth inning that set up the big inning for the Braves. (-.178)
Up Next: The two clubs will face-off in their regular season finale, with Jon Lester and Michael Soroka as the probable starters.
Lead photo courtesy Dale Zanine—USA Today Sports