Looking to continue his breakout season, Hurston Waldrep took the mound against Cal Raleigh and the Mariners.
Things did not start well for Hurston, as a one out walk to Cal Raleigh in the first turned into a two run homer from Julio Rodriguez. He then issued another walk to Naylor, but locked in with a strikeout of Eugenio Suarez. There were no baserunners for either team in the second, despite 105+ MPH line drives from Kim and Harris. Waldrep struggled with command again in the third, issuing a walk to Arozarena
and hitting Rodriguez on the hand, but struck out Raleigh and Suarez on his way to a scoreless frame. The Braves’ offense had nothing to offer in the third and Waldrep got back at it in the fourth, issuing his fourth walk on what perhaps should have been his fifth strikeout. The ball did not lie, however, as he got an easy chopper to Ha-Seong Kim for a tailor-made double-play. He allowed a double to Robles with two outs, but struck out Rivas to keep the Mariners off the board in the inning.
The Braves’ offense got going in the home fourth, as Matt Olson led the frame off with a monster 459 ft homer run that was 111.5 MPH off the bat.
Ozzie singled and Ronald walked, but the Braves were unable to score more than just the one run from Olson, leaving the Mariners with a 2-1 lead. Waldrep finished his outing with three groundouts in the fifth, giving him 5.0 innings of 2 run ball with 5 strikeouts and 5 walks. Obviously he struggled with command on the evening, but it was really good to see the swing and miss still be there and for him to battle through and give the Braves a solid outing. While it’s not a dominant start, being able to avoid an implosion while not having good command is a sign of growth from Hurston.
Rolddy Munoz started the sixth, but walked two before recording a strikeout that ended his outing. Pierce Johnson came in and recorded a strikeout and groundout to keep the frame scoreless. The Braves tied things up in the home fifth on singles from Baldwin and Kim, an Acuna walk, and a barreled sac fly from Harris. Daysbel got the seventh and gave the lead back, as he allowed a single to Arozarena, another two run homer to Rodriguez, and then a solo homer to Suarez, as the Mariners established a 5-2 lead. Hayden Harris relieved Daysbel after the Suarez homer and allowed a double, RBI single, and a walk, before getting an inning-ending flyout to hold Seattle to a 6-2 lead. John Brebbia had a rough time in the eighth, hitting Arozarena, allowing a single to Rodriguez, and then a three run homer to Naylor. He allowed another homer to Raleigh in the ninth, his 52nd on the season.
Join us tomorrow for the rubber-match at 12:05 PM ET.
