MLB Rankings: Baseball’s Greatest Hits of Week-19
By Bill Felber
MLB Rankings: Greatest Hits in Week-19
3. Ronald Acuna, 47 percent
On their way to the lead in the NL East, the Braves have specialized in comebacks. They powered their way to yet another last Sunday against the visiting Cincinnati Reds, the only difference being that this time it didn’t hold up.
The Reds gradually built a 3-0 lead through the middle innings, and Sonny Gray stifled Atlanta on just four hits through seven innings. But Gray left after seven innings, having delivered 110 pitches, and his departure opened the door for Atlanta to go on the offense against the Reds bullpen.
Josh Donaldson didn’t waste any time, slamming a 3-2 pitch from reliever Lucas Sims for a home run to start the eighth. Yet the Braves still trailed 3-1 entering the ninth when Amir Garrett took over on the mound for Sims.
Garrett retired Tyler Flowers on an infield grounder but made the mistake of walking Freddie Freeman on a 3-1 pitch ahead of Acuna. As he stood in, Acuna had fanned twice in his last three plate appearances, but he knew how to make amends. On a 3-2 pitch, he drilled a game-tying home run into the right-field seats to the delight of the Sun trust Park crowd.
Robert Stephenson replaced Garrett and survived an extended Braves threat to record the inning’s final two outs, sending the game into extra innings. It also set up another Red to be a hero.