The Braves scored six runs in the eighth inning Thursday night to turn a 4-2 deficit into an 8-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. The wildly improbable rally was accomplished with three hits and five consecutive walks, four of them with the bases loaded.
“That was really weird, I’m not going to lie,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley said.
Here’s how the inning unfolded:
-- With two out and no one on base, Freddie Freeman singled to left, a small start to a big rally.
-- Riley fouled off two pitches before homering down the left-field line on the sixth pitch, a slider. “That was a really good at-bat,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. Braves 4, Cardinals 4.
-- Dansby Swanson doubled to deep right field.
-- All-Star closer Alex Reyes replaced Giovanny Gallegos on the mound for St. Louis.
-- Adam Duvall was hit by a pitch.
-- Joc Pederson walked on four pitches, loading the bases.
-- Pinch-hitter Ehire Adrianza walked on five pitches, scoring Swanson with the go-ahead run and keeping the bases loaded. “A very calm, professional at-bat right there,” Snitker said. Braves 5, Cardinals 4.
-- Pinch-hitter Stephen Vogt walked on four pitches, scoring Duvall and reloading the bases. “Reyes is such a good pitcher,” Vogt said. “He has a tendency sometimes to throw the ball out of the zone at times, and we showed great patience.” Braves 6, Cardinals 4.
-- Ozzie Albies walked on a full-count pitch, scoring Pederson and keeping the bases loaded. Braves 7, Cardinals 4.
-- Justin Miller replaced Reyes as the Cardinals’ pitcher.
-- Jorge Soler walked after falling behind 0-2 in the count, scoring Adrianza and again keeping the bases loaded. “He took some really close pitches,” Vogt said. Braves 8, Cardinals 4.
-- Freeman, whose two-out hit started the rally, lined out to second base to end the inning.
“It’s starting to feel like that mojo is back,” Snitker said after the game, the Braves’ third consecutive win, which gave them an above-.500 record for the first time this season. “The way these guys are roaring back and what they’re doing, it’s kind of like what we’ve done the last two or three years. It kind of seems more like us -- with a lot of new guys.”
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