Did you see this one coming?
The Atlanta Braves (63-77) fought in the end to take the win and avoid a sweep from the Chicago Cubs.
Seven was the magic number here.
The Cubs were up by one against the Braves who were scoreless up until the seventh inning, where Ha-Seong Kim hit his first homer as a Brave, a 391 ft go-ahead three-run homer at that, to put the team on the board, bringing in both Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II (3-1).
Nacho Alvarez Jr. didn’t take any time to follow up with an RBI single
to bring Eli White in and increase the Braves’ lead by three runs (4-1).
The bats didn’t stop there for the Braves, as Albies cracked a solo shot in the top of the eight, making that his 15th homer of the year and enough to secure the win for the team to end the series on a high note before returning home.
Bryce Elder ( 5.54 ERA) stood out as well, as he pitched once again deep through seven innings, leaving the Cubs stunned with only one earned run, four hits, no walks, six total strikeouts and 12 total Whiffs.
Pretty impressive for Elder to go back-to-back with high-performing seven-inning outings. This time, he had the run support to back him up.
Raisel Iglesias, who was recently nominated for ““Reliever of the Month,” almost ran into some trouble in the bottom of the ninth, allowing two walks to give the Cubs a glimpse of hope of a comeback.
Finally, striking out Cubs’ Carlos Santana on a full-count for that third out, Braves fans could breathe a sigh of relief.
A much-needed win for the team who seemed to have struggled earlier in both of their recent series, only to avoid a sweep in the end.
Now the question is, will they be able to carry this momentum with Chris Sale on the mound back home against the Mariners?
One day at a time as the Braves have an off-day to travel and recover tomorrow before retuning back to Truist to face off against Seattle.
