Braves sow the wind, reap the whirlwind in 3-2 loss to Red Sox

The Braves kept a slim lead and chose to extend Bryce Elder’s outing through the Red Sox order a third and fourth time. After a double put the tying run on second in the eighth, Willson Contreras hit a two-run home run that turned the game. The Braves added runs in the ninth, but a ricochet went against them and the Red Sox held on. Early scoring came from Jarren Duran’s double, followed by Drake Baldwin’s leadoff homer and Ozzie Albies’s home run that did not leave the park. The middle innings featured long stretches of outs, while the fourth inning included defensive miscues and a late sac fly after a slow challenge decision.

"Holding on to a slim lead and wanting to give their top bullpen arms a break, the Braves opted not only to run Bryce Elder through the Red Sox order a third time, but also a fourth. While the first two outs of the eighth occurred with little drama, the Braves didn't budge when a double put the tying run on second. Up came Willson Contreras, and not much later, a no-doubter of a two-run shot turned the game around."

"The beginning of this game zipped along, though things got a bit muddy in the middle innings. Jarren Duran hit a double to start the game, but Elder held fast and struck out two to prevent him from advancing. Drake Baldwin then jumped all over a mis-located Payton Tolle sinker and smashed it to deep center for another leadoff homer. Ozzie Albies followed with a barrel of his own, but his didn't carry out to left."

"The game then went into turbo mode. There were 13 straight outs before Jose Azocar ripped a double off Tolle. Baldwin then worked a walk, but Albies and Matt Olson made outs in the air to keep it a 1-0 game. The Red Sox threatened with a couple of soft singles to start the fourth."

"Contreras hit a routine, probably should've been a double play ball to Austin Riley at third, but Riley booted it and then didn't even get a force at second in time. The next batter hit a lineout to left that worked a sac fly: the Braves inexplicably took forever to decide whether to challenge, ultimately opted to, but to no avail."

Read at Battery Power