Going into this series, the Atlanta Braves appeared to bounce back from their disappointing series against the Pittsburgh Pirates by taking three out of four against the Washington Nationals, pushing them to the .500 mark. If Atlanta won this series against the Boston Red Sox, they’d finally be over .500
The Red Sox were in a similar position going into this series. Boston entered the series floating around .500 and was looking to bounce back after getting swept by the Detroit Tigers before this series. However, it was clear from the earliest part of this series that the Braves were determined to be the ones to finish this series on top.
Atlanta Braves vs. Boston Red Sox Series Recap
Game 1: Braves 4, Red Sox 2
On paper, this was supposed to be an intense pitcher’s duel between Chris Sale and Garrett Crochet, and for the most part that’s exactly what we got. This was a pretty close game throughout, as the back-to-back home runs from Matt Olson and Sean Murphy held up for most of the contest. Rob Refsnyder hit a home run that brought Boston within one run but that’s as close as the Red Sox got to toppling the Braves in this game. Sale was outstanding, outdueling Crochet in this one, and Braves fans are slowly beginning to forget about Sale’s slow start.
The Braves would get some breathing room in the later stages of this one. Liam Hendriks and Brennan Bernardino both had a rough outing in this one and thanks to some walks and timely hitting, Atlanta was able to push it to a 4-1 lead. Trevor Story added an RBI single against Raisel Iglesias in the ninth inning but Iglesias recovered and made sure that Atlanta started this series on a high note.
Game 2: Red Sox 7, Braves 6
For most of this game, it seemed like Grant Holmes and the Braves were going to take care of business and win this series early. Atlanta was up 3-0 with back-to-back homers from Olson and Marcell Ozuna, before Holmes would even step on the mound and do his thing. Atlanta would even get the score up to 5-0 thanks to a third-inning homer from Drake Baldwin. It was beginning to look like an easy stress-free night for Atlanta.
Then the collapse began. Holmes gave up two runs in the third inning and even though the Braves got one of those runs back in the fourth inning, Aaron Bummer and Enyel De Los Santos conceded a pair of runs in the seventh inning, and then Pierce Johnson gave up a game-tying two-RBI single to Jarren Duran that tied it all up in the eighth inning. Johnson stayed out for the ninth inning and the collapse was complete after Rafael Devers hit a walk-off homer to even the series. Overall it was a solid start for Holmes, but Atlanta’s bullpen had a night to forget.
Game 3: Braves 10, Red Sox 4
Following the tough loss on Saturday night, an emphatic, bounce-back win for Atlanta was exactly what the doctor ordered. The Braves jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and then they would push it to a three-run lead in the third inning. Spencer Schwellenbach had a solid outing but Boston’s half of the third inning ended up being his worst inning of the day by far. Devers, who has been at the center of controversy, would hit a grand slam, making it 4-3 Red Sox to turn the game around despite Atlanta’s early control.
However, the Braves immediately responded. They tied the game up in the fourth inning with an Austin Riley RBI single and then Atlanta took advantage of Brayan Bello losing control of his stuff by picking up three more runs in the fifth inning. It started with a bases-loaded walk for Michael Harris, then an RBI single from Eli White and a sacrifice fly from Nick Allen. The Braves decided to put the icing on the cake in the eighth inning, as Olson hit a sacrifice fly, and then Ozuna hit a two-out dinger out of Fenway Park bringing us to the final score of 10-4.
Final Thoughts
The pessimistic side of me wants to dwell on the blown second game of this series, but overall this was a great performance over three games on the road for Atlanta. Sale’s efforts in the first game lived up to the lofty expectations that his pitching matchup with Crochet promised, Holmes was very solid in his outing, and Schwellenbach’s only mistake was canceled out by Atlanta’s lineup having a great day at the plate on Sunday. The hitting for the entire series was good overall. Ozuna and Olson enjoy hitting at Fenway and Baldwin continues to dominate at the plate when he gets his opportunities.
The Braves head into a rare day off on Monday with momentum on their side. Atlanta just finished a stretch of 17 days in a row without an off-day and the good news is that they’ll be heading into that day of rest over the .500 mark. It’s been a long and difficult trip back to having a winning record but the Braves are finally here and hopefully they will stay over .500 going forward. Atlanta is on a very solid run at the moment and hopefully they’ll continue to keep it rolling for their upcoming series against the Nationals.
Main Image: Â Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images
