Braves scrape by in resilient team win, as the offense picks up the bullpen

The Braves picked up a gritty win, giving them a chance to go into the all-star break on a sweep

After a tight Friday night victory with an unusual lineup, the Braves were hoping to get a win against the hittable Erick Fedde behind a bullpen game started by Aaron Bummer.

It looked like it would be a typical 2025 Braves scoreless first, but Ronald Acuna skied a homer at a 39 degree launch angle but 108.7 off the bat in his first ever plate appearance batting third in the order.

Aaron Bummer’s outing started in very Aaron Bummer fashion, with a swinging bunt single, but ultimately Aaron worked a scoreless first. The Braves kept adding on in the second, as Marcell Ozuna hit a very different kind of solo homer than Ronnie’s, one much more of the line drive variety, as the Big Bear is perhaps heating back up recently. Singles from Albies and Nacho plus a fielder’s choice from Harris brought home the Braves’ third run, giving them a 3-0 lead.

The lead was short-lived however, as a Pozo double, a Saggese single, and a Gorman home run tied the game for the Cardinals off Bummer. Bummer finished the inning from there, but the lead was gone. The recently (re)acquired Joey Wentz came in in the third and was actually lights out, with two strikeouts in his first, second, and third inning, to go with 10 whiffs. An Ozuna single in the fourth was erased by a double play, but again presented perhaps some evidence of Ozuna finding his footing at the plate again, which is relevant both on the field and perhaps for the trade deadline. A Harris single and an Olson walk came and went without a run in the fifth as well.

Rafael Montero got the sixth for Atlanta after another unsuccessful offensive frame and mowed down two batters before giving up a solo homer to the catcher Pozo. Montero got the final out, but exited the game with a 4-3 Cardinals’ lead. Dylan Lee got the seventh and gave up a run on some horrid BABIP luck, with a single, a sac bunt, and a single. The offense wasn’t dead yet though, as Jurickson Profar led off the eighth with a double. Ronald Acuna walked with one out and Sean Murphy hit another homer, his third in two days, as he is on an absolute heater. This one was huge, as it turned a 2-run deficit into a 1-run lead for Atlanta in the eighth inning.

Of course, it couldn’t be that easy, as Daysbel Hernandez took over in relief and walked the bases loaded. He then allowed a run to score on a wild pitch before recording his second strikeout of the inning to end the frame, now a tied ballgame again. Nacho Alvarez came through with his second single of the game to lead off the ninth. Michael Harris dropped a sacrifice bunt and Drake Baldwin game through with an RBI single to give Atlanta a 7-6 lead. Two groundouts later and we were on to the bottom of the ninth with a one run Braves lead.

Raisel Iglesias got the ninth in another save opportunity and came through in a scoreless frame with one strikeout, securing the series win. For a team that has one foot in the grave for this season, this was a pretty impressive and resilient win.