Dominic Smith gets Braves win in clutch come-from-behind fashion

The Atlanta Braves’ series win-streak isn’t over yet.

Applying offensive production was the key to this matchup, and that’s exactly what the team was able to pull off in a clutch performance to win the game 6-5 against the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins capitalized in the beginning, starting off the bat (no pun intended) after Reynaldo López went for five innings in his return, but didn’t showcase the strong start we’ve seen for his past three games. Though accomplishing six total strikeouts, he also gave up five hits, three earned runs, and three walks.

Two very strong starters struggling back-to-back is not what this team needed to set the tone and limit the runs of the bat-happy Marlins. It’s fair to observe that it wasn’t necessarily that the fish were that good, but they took advantage when given the opportunity. Drawing walks and collecting hits when they could paid off and made a difference when it was time to drive in runs to start hot.

Was it possible López’s suspension set him back a bit, or was today just an off-day?

Now for the offense, the Braves scored two in the third after an RBI single from Dominic Smith to drive Ozzie Albies in for the first run, and an RBI double from Drake Baldwin to bring in Mauricio Dubón for their second. Matt Olson would collect a double of his own soon after to drive in Baldwin, cutting the Marlins’ lead to a one-run game (5-4).

The eighth inning was where the real action happened. A single from Marlins’ Otto Lopez put the fish in the lead by two runs (5-3). But, it’s true what they say, especially in the game of baseball, “it’s not over ‘til it’s over.” And the Braves are becoming notorious for demonstrating a visual of that saying.

With two outs recorded in the bottom of the eighth, Mike Yastrzemski singled to place Baldwin on third, Ozzie Albies took his base after getting hit by a pitch, and this set the scene with bases loaded and newcomer Dominic Smith to take the plate and get a bases-clearing double to give the Braves the lead (6-5).

After his walk-off homer during his introduction to Braves Country just a few weeks ago, Smith has continued to be an outstanding asset for the team, and with this go-ahead double, his plate discipline and situational awareness, Braves fans are already discussing building a statue in honor of his service.

That wasn’t the only big accomplishment the team ended with to extend their series win-streak. Raisel Iglesias entered in the ninth inning to replace Robert Suarez and earned his 100th save in Atlanta— making him the fifth pitcher in the franchise to achieve this feat.

What was that saying we mentioned in the preview? It’s not how you start, but how you finish that counts. And though running into some struggles in the beginning, the Braves pulled off a satisfying win in the end.

Tomorrow we’ll be seeing Bryce Elder taking the mound to close the series out. Let’s hope he continues his favorable efforts with the offense doing the same.