Braves intentional walk gamble pays off in 11-inning win over Orioles
Atlanta manager Walt Weiss loaded the bases on purpose in the 11th, and the Braves beat the Orioles 3-2 after late chaos.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
The Braves intentional walk that could have made Walt Weiss the villain instead helped Atlanta sneak out of Baltimore with a 3-2, 11-inning win over the Orioles on Sunday, according to the Associated Press.
Weiss ordered the bold move in the bottom of the 11th with runners on first and second and two outs. Atlanta had just taken a 3-2 lead on Austin Riley’s RBI double, but Baltimore still had one more threat brewing.
The Braves chose to walk left-handed hitter Jackson Holliday, loading the bases and moving the tying run to third. That set up right-hander Tyler Kinley against right-handed catcher Sam Huff, and Kinley got the ground ball Atlanta needed to end the game.
Weiss told reporters he liked Kinley against right-handed hitters, while acknowledging the choice would have drawn heat if it failed. Kinley said the move made sense because he had not earned much trust against left-handed hitters lately and could attack the righty matchup.
Why did the Braves intentionally walk Jackson Holliday?
The Braves walked Holliday to create a righty-on-righty matchup for Kinley against Huff, the Associated Press reported. AP also noted Baltimore’s top two catchers were on the injured list and the Orioles had no available hitters left on the bench, while Huff entered at 4-for-32 on the season with 19 strikeouts.
The final escape capped a long, strange closing act for Atlanta. The Braves had been ahead 2-1 in the ninth before Ozzie Albies let a grounder through his legs, putting Orioles runners at the corners with one out.
Albies answered on the next batter with a diving stop and throw to first. Baltimore scored the tying run on the play, but Atlanta avoided further damage and pushed the game into extras.
The Orioles had another chance in the 10th. A wild pitch and a walk put runners on first and third, then Atlanta intentionally walked Pete Alonso to fill the bases with nobody out.
Weiss shifted into survival mode with five infielders and two outfielders. Gunnar Henderson then hit a line drive to Matt Olson near first base, and Olson caught it before Alonso was doubled off, according to AP.
That defensive stand kept the game tied long enough for Riley to lead off the 11th with the run-scoring double that became the winner.
The AP reported that Weiss praised Albies after the game, saying the second baseman almost never misses that kind of ball and calling him one of Atlanta’s leaders. Weiss said difficult moments happen to players who spend enough time in the majors.
The 11th-inning walk to Holliday was rare territory. According to AP, it was only the third time this season a player had been intentionally walked with runners on first and second.
The previous two attempts did not work. Texas walked Houston’s Yordan Alvarez in that spot on July 12 before the next batter singled in two runs, and Pittsburgh walked the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong in the 10th on Friday before the following hitter drew a run-scoring walk.
This time, Weiss got the ending he wanted: a loaded-bases gamble, a grounder, and a Braves win that looked anything but routine.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.