Eli White hit one of the biggest home runs of his career on Wednesday in the series finale against the Cardinals.
White hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Braves a 4-1 victory over St. Louis and a series win as Atlanta went 5-1 on the homestand at Truist Park.
In a 1-1 game in the eighth, White came to the plate with runners on second and third and the Cardinals brought in relief pitcher Ryan Fernandez to try and keep the game knotted at one.
White took the third pitch Fernandez threw and sent it 434 feet into the Hank Aaron Terrace in left field.
“I haven’t showered yet because I can’t stop sweating,” White said at his locker. “It’s an amazing feeling to just be able to come through for the team there and help the team win a series. It was big. I was super-excited to contribute there.”
It was White’s 11th career big league home run and perhaps the most memorable.
“I know I hit a game-tying [three-run] homer in Double-A one time,” White said. “But nothing that big of a deal. That was special and something I’ll always remember.”
Fernandez started the at-bat with two 90 miles per hour cutters before throwing an 82.8 miles per hour slider that stayed low in the zone and White barreled it for an exit velocity of 106.9 miles per hour.
“I was kind of looking for that pitch the whole time,” White said. “That was what he threw mostly based on the report. With runners in scoring position there I figured he was going to try and throw a slider down at some point. I was able to get one up enough and put a good swing on it.”
Braves manager Brian Snitker said it couldn’t have happened to a better person.
“It couldn’t,” Snitker said. “The guy does everything right and cares. He works hard [and] understands his role. He provides a lot for us. That was a bomb. I’m happy for us and Eli that he got to experience that.”
White got the start in left field as Alex Verdugo, who had been starting in left field since the beginning of the series when he made his Braves debut, had the day off. It was White’s sixth start of the year and the home run came in his 20th at-bat of the season.
“It’s not easy to be a bench player when the at-bats are sporadic,” Snitker said. “You [have to] understand your role and how you prepare. He’s still taking ground balls in the infield every day just in case. It’s a hard job.”
White, a South Carolina native, grew up coming to Braves games and he said hitting the game-winner in a Braves uniform made the moment even more special.
“I have to pinch myself every time I put this uniform on,” White said. “To get to come through for the team there and get a win is just really special.”
White and his dad used to watch games from left field, where White’s home run landed.
“The fans are always great out there and they were chanting my name before it even happened,” White said. “It was cool to bring some excitement to them and get to come through for them.”
White’s home run was Atlanta’s 10th of the six-game homestand.
“We all want to win and that’s the goal every day,” White said. “To get a series win here after coming off a sweep is huge. We get an off day [Thursday] and a big road trip coming up.”
Braves starting pitcher Bryce Elder allowed one run on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts as he put White in Atlanta in a good position to win.
“You can’t ask for a better guy to be there in that situation,” Elder said of White. “He just gets after it every day and for him to go out there and do that in that situation is pretty special. It’s awesome.”
Snitker said a big reason White made the team out of spring training was White’s speed.
It was the third time in the homestand that the Braves have scored three or more runs in the eighth inning to win.
“It was a great homestand with a lot of comeback wins,” Snitker said. “Kudos to Bryce and how he regrouped in that first inning. I looked up there and he had nine balls and one strike with two outs. He regrouped and he was really efficient.”
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