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Incredible. Just Incredible: Braves Beat Fish 4-3 in 11 Innings

Group hugs all around!

Kevin C. Cox - Getty Images

Group hugs all around!

"We're at the point in the season where we don't expect anything other than what Omar did... It was a huge hit. Huge win for us." - Kris Medlen

This statement is exactly how most Braves fans have been feeling this season.

Omar Infante was the hero on Friday night when he delivered a game winning 2-run single to left field off of Marlins closer Leo Nunez. Brian McCann led off the inning with a four-pitch walk to get the Braves started. Troy Glaus, after being down 1-2 in the count, ripped a double to the right-center field gap to move McCann to 3rd and himself to 2nd. Omar Infante, who came in as a defensive replacement for the struggling Eric Hinske, came up to the plate. After looking at strike one and fouling away strike two, Omar had to battle back. He certainly did.

Infante took a nasty 1-2 slider and lined a hit into left field. Brian McCann scored from 3rd and pinch-runner Brandon Hicks scored easily from 2nd. Game over. Braves win 4-3.

Hanley Ramirez got the Marlins on the board in the 1st inning with a solo-HR to center field. It could've been a 2-run HR, but Chris Coghlan was incorrectly called out at 2nd base. The umpire thought he had touched 2nd base and then failed to re-touch it after a catch was made, but Coghlan only straddled the base. A big break for the Bravos, but Coghlan shouldn't have even given the umpire the chance to miss the call.

Offensive frustration set in for the Braves after that. The got a runner to 3rd base in three of the first four innings, but failed to score him every time. Josh Johnson had his strikeout pitches working and the Braves continued to fail with RISP. Finally in the 5th, Marteeen Prado drove in Gregor Blanco (who had a great game) with a RBI-single to LF. The game was tied 1-1 in the 5th.

The exact same situation happened in the 7th. With Gregor Blanco standing on 3rd, Marteeen Prado ripped a line drive to right-center field to easily score Blanco from 3rd. Braves led 2-1 heading into the 8th.

After a scoreless 8th inning, Billy Wagner came in to close the game. He wasn't greeted politely. Gabby Sanchez hit a home run to center field that just cleared the fence. To be honest, Gregor Blanco had a play on the ball if he timed his jump a bit better. The lead was gone and the score was 2-2 and we were heading into extras.

The 11th inning was wild. Wes Helms led off the inning with a single. Chris Coghlan than laid down a bunt to move the runner over, but Troy Glaus made an awful throw to 1B which moved Helms over to 3rd with no outs. Jonny Venters intentionally walked Hanley Ramirez to load the bases, which brought up Jorge Cantu. Cantu lined the first pitch right to Chipper Jones for the first out. To be honest, if the ball is hit a foot to the left or right, it's a bases-clearing double. Chipper made the play though for the first out.

Pinch hitter Brian Barden then came up to hit. On a 2-1 pitch, the Marlins attempted a squeeze. Barden missed the bunt and the Braves looked to have Helms caught up on the base paths, but Jonny Venters totally missed a throw from Chipper to tag Helms out. The Marlins scored on the near-fatal error to make the score 3-2. 

Venters showed great heart to battle back. He struck out Barden on the next pitch and struck Dan Uggla out on a filthy slider. The Braves had one last chance in the 11th to win it.

You know how the rest goes. McCann walks, Glaus doubles and Omar Infante drives them in. Turner Field erupts and the Braves win yet another game at home.

MVP(s): 

Omar Infante - GW 2-RBI single in the 11th. 'Nuff said.

Kris Medlen - 6.1IP, 6H, 1ER, 1BB, 5K

Gregor Blanco - 2-for-3, BB, 2R; move this guy up to 2nd in the lineup until Heyward gets healthy. I'm tired of seeing MelkyFail up there every night.

LVP(s): 

Leo Nunez - 0.0IP, 3H, 2ER

Next Game: 4:10EST, Anibal Sanchez vs. Tommy Hanson; the game will be on FOX, so get your mute buttons ready.

0 recs  |  167 comments

Comments

This is Braves country.

Team of Destiny.
Gotta love the drama in this game...
I almost shit myself we Johnny dropped that ball

And Venters still got the win.

Something special about this team.

Snatching WIN From The Jaws of Fail....

That is the summary of the game.

unfreakingbelievable

Absolutely insane game

Still can’t believe Wags gave up that homerun and Venters dropped the ball, but awesome job by Infante.

best Record in the NL BABY!
well as long as the padres lose

but still will be tied, holler!

The Phillies lost, too. Unfortunately, the Mets did win today.

No worries about the Mets. When they come to the Ted, they will understand why we have the best home record in baseball. The separation series.

I thought we were playing them in NY to wrap things up going into the break….

Fail on my part. U r right. I was getting ahead of myself (home series vs Met Aug 2)

after the break, we play 7 of 10 against the muts at home

Fun times had by all.....except the Mets and their fans.
And rally killers.
Those ESPN retards better show this

oh you know its gonna be 24/7 lebron coverage until he signs…

LeBron blew his nose with kleenex that he purchased in Chicago. Analysis after the break!

Finally

some MLB stuff, but no Braves stuff most likely

Venters drop and Infante’s hit led off the show.

Aw crap

I missed it!!! My bad

Baseball tonight is on in 50 minutes or so…be sure to check the end of it for Braves highlights

Ugh

Baseball tonight?

MLB Tonight all the way dude.

yeah, but not all of us get mlb network…

yeah i don’t

True

But if you get ESPN, you should be able to get MLB Network for not too much more. Here with Comcast its included for free. No need for an extra sports package or whatever.

Never seen it, don't have the cable package

do they talk about the Braves at all

I had it for a while

It was awesome. Even Harold Reynolds seemed bearable.

MLB Network

Is easily the best channel on TV. They talk about everyone, and it is just great baseball. After you watch some of that, its so hard to go back to ESPN and watch their pathetic attempt.

i have the mlb network

but i don’t watch it often…when i turned it on once it just showed clips…nobody talked about anything really…
as in, nobody analyzed any teams or anything…
i won’t judge it entirely on one time…but is that the norm?

It’s 4831092318903282310983208x better than BBTN. Please don’t watch BBTN anymore.

That was quick pitch. Not MLB Tonight.

quick pitch

Great, fair coverage and better highlights than baseball tonight

I know!!

They’ve been talking about Queen James for 2 days non-stop!!

seriously, for espn, football/basketball>baseball>everything else

thats how it is for most people
Hahahaha

You know, its Lebronfest right now. I’m shocked they managed to cover the World Cup at all today.

I wish i could watch games on TBS again
I wish FSC didn't exist.
Great Win

Infante battled

Aye, that he did....

How many pitches did he see AFTER he was already down 0-2? That was pretty epic.

no matter the count

our hitters always put together a good AB.

Braves player

going to be on MLB tonight after commercial break

I grew up on the Braves of the early 90s

The ones who had the hunger and the never quit attitude. This team is alot like that

I really think they’re determined to give Bobby a WS victory to go out on.

It’s a throwback of the ’95 team. Exceptional pitching and timely hitting.

Our pitching hasn't been '95 good

But the hitting has been better than in ’95

Lots of come from behinds in '95, though

Tons of last AB wins. I may have to look that up for comparative purposes.

In that regard, yes,

this is a dead-on comparison.

It truly does.
and the stars are aligned.

I am going to keep on saying it:
This is a championship season.

keep on saying it

 i got 1000 dollars on the world series braves 2010

How freaking stupid are the Marlins

Good thing they fired their manager.

Seriously. 0 outs. Tying run on 3rd. Winning run on 2nd. What do you do?

YOU FREAKING WALK THE BATTER!

Put on a runner that cannot hurt you, set up a force out at home on a slow runner.

I mean, seriously. That’s like Managing 101.

sshhh

they might be reading this thread

that would require a computer which would require money being spent. we all know thats not happening.

+Infinity for the lulz (and truth)
Straight from the Marlins FO

.— . / … ..- .. .

Fredi is probably sipping a cold one thinking “I’m gonna love Atlanta next year.”

"man, is my job gonna be easy against the marlins 18 times a year"

I am assuming they decided they would rather try their luck against Infante than Escobar. Hope to get Infante to strike out or do something that doesn’t score a run. Then they would have walked Escobar to set up the double play with 1 out already. It was really pick your poison situation. I am glad they did it this way though, worked out awesome for us. But I don’t think it was the worst managerial decision ever.

I’ll say this about Jonny Venters.

The guy showed a lot of guts not letting that botched rundown fester in his head. He came right back and struck out the next two guys.

Prado, Baby! Infante, Baby

Fuck the Fish

wow.

I love this team

That was amazing.
in the bottom of the 11th they showed Vulture in the dugout a couple of times and he looked like someone killed his dog, but he was smiling when Omar hit the walkoff.

I called that, btw. I said his sad face would turn into a vulturish grin when the walkoff happens.

haha, i remember that! you’re good arent ya

Prado for MVP!

Not even joking.

Why would you be joking? Prado is a legit MVP contender this season.

Someone make a website or facebook page for that. Maybe the Braves will find out about it and Moylan will make Prado an “MVP” sticker

Prado is a legit contender, there shouldn’t be any joking

ehh

I love Martin something fierce, but he’s got a ways to go before he deserves the MVP.

hey

dustin pedroia got 1

So?

There are 5 or 6 guys who have had better seasons than Martin for playoff contenders.

It’s possible that Martin ends up as the most deserving candidate, but he’s not in that position yet. He is easily the Braves’ MVP, though.

Nationals

lose the game on a pick-off

LOLNats

We nearly lost

on a dropped throw on a run-down. I wouldn’t cast stones…

I mean after last year… we don’t need to make fun of teams for losing a game on a pick-off, since we ended the season on one.

why has espn and mlb network not talked about the braves win

because they are asshats!

i thought hats were only for heads?

ESPN: omg the phillies r so darn good. Dey gunna win teh wurld seereez. they got hit hard buy injureez but they still gunna win it. metz gunna win the wurld seereez too. Yankees yankeees yankees yankees yankees lebron james yankees yankees yankees tiger woods yankees

don’t forget brett farv

Omg brett favre is gunna play agin. hes teh best qb evar. he had ankle surgeree so dat means he gunna play moar. PHILLIES PHILLIES PHILLIES PHILLIES PHILLIES

The Truth...

Most of them are Phillies, Red Sox, Mets, Yankees fans.

don’t forget the cubs…

actually, every time I watch baseball tonight, they’re pretty high on the braves chances for making the postseason.

WOOT!

WOOT!

Ways to make Peachtree TV BETTER...

have a strikezone cam. for nights like tonite where the ump sucks cock.

Don’t let SportSouth hog all the glory. Air the interview of Bobby after the game. Those are always brief, to the point, and fun.

GO BRAVES

Agreed, they need a postgame and pregame show

Incredible sums it all up just about

Great game. This team shows a lot of heart and grit that we haven’t seen in a while

in other news

Rome walked-off on a steal of home by Phil Gosselin

Pretty cool

actually

it was almost exactly like the botched squeeze play tonight

and Freeman hit another homer

The Jet stole home!

OMAR FOR STARTING SS 2011!!!

if he had Yunels glove i would back that but since he does i cant. just put him in left

fuck dish network for not carrying PTV or MLB Network
I get PTV

It comes on in the 440-450 range. Not sure exactly what package I have though.

do you live in the metro ATL area?
In terms of sheer twists and turns,

this might be the win of the year. I went from complete confidence to mild uncertainty to worry to panic to depression to hope to relief to OH MY GOD WE WON! All in the last inning.

This has to make Wags and Jonny feel a lot better, knowing that their teammates are there to pick them up. Also, it was nice to see McCann lead off with the walk after making a slight mistake (throwing too soon on the rundown) that turned out to be crucial. His at-bat set the tone for the walk-off. Big props to Glausy, too. He’s been fighting it lately, but his double (on a gimpy leg, no less) was clutch.

…from complete confidence to mild uncertainty to worry to panic to depression to hope to relief to OH MY GOD WE WON!…

This game was undoubtedly amazing. Not half as exciting as vs. Cincinatti, but it definitely kept me sitting at the edge of the couch for a while. Games like this, are why I watch the Braves.
Unexpected Awesomeness Awaits at every turn!

Picking up teammates who fail

Is an undervalued, and too often unacknowledged, trait of great teams. The Braves took a gut punch (the Sanchez homer) and then a groin kick (that whole top of the 11th) and still shook it all off.

I actually stopped watching in the final inning.

I’m not sure if I should be happy or glad. I would have been so pissed at the top of the inning, then had a heart attack at the bottom of the inning.

With the late inning drama that surrounds this team

how could you turn it off in the last inning? your bound to miss the best part

on a side note...

garret anderson just stole a base…how did that even happen?

Gary Sheffield stole home when he was 38 year old.

I’m still giving that the higher improbability score.

I feel comfortable with our 4 rotation (Hudson, Meds, Hanson, JJ) versus any team’s rotation in the MLB. Let’s Go BRAVOS!

over Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, and Zito? Hmmm

Yes.

That’s a pretty big drop-off after Lincecum.

Cain

Is very underrated. Not a very big drop off.

I meant no disrespect to Cain’s abilities, but anyone is a pretty big drop-off after Lincecum. And I wouldn’t have even bothered including Zito on the list.

Certainly anyone is a drop off from Lincecum, but Cain is probably the best #2 in the league after Chris Carpenter.

I'm an LSU fan first and foremost, so i'm used to this come from behind shit at the last second shit

But WTF was up with Wags trying a knuckler in that situation?

pardon my french. ive had a few, sue me

pretty sure it was a joke – it was a fastball that had a lot of the plate

I bet Rich Waltz is still sobbing into his pillow back at the hotel.

I'd like to note that I showed up and Wags gave up a home run...

Went downstairs and we settled down, came back up and we gave up a run… went back downstairs and we won… I think I should just stay downstairs forever.

I thought...

we all lived in our mom’s baseball.

BASEMENT duh
Who's the Greg White outfielder?

I like his style at the plate right now

trade talk

love how this team finds a way to win. Not great in any one area (except prado) but they find a way to get it done. Coming up on the halfway point I see some concerns that may come back to haunt us. Defense is spotty and we are extremely lucky that it has not cost us more games. Will the offense be enough. We rank in the bottom of the league in homeruns which is fine if your getting on base, which we are. However, the middle of our lineup is not hitting. Glaus was on a tear but appears to be coming back down to earth. Brian and Chipper are on a pace to have fewer than 80 RBI’s and less than 20 homers. THese are your number 3 and 4 hitters. McCann will come around and chipper will find ways to help this team but we need another bat. I like the idea of getting De Jesus from KC. Plays good defense, hits for average, does not strike out alot and has some power. His numbers are very similar to Prado’s. You put those two guys at the top of the order and you are setting the table. Would this be enough or would Hart be the better option. He does play right field. Could Heyward play center field. I like what Blanco has been doing. He’s the perfect 8 hole hitter. Gets on base, has good speed so the pitcher can bunt him over then prado will get him in. This is why we won tonight. Hopefully Blanco can be the answer. Just some thoughts look forward to the second half. Let’s pray the mets don’t get cliff Lee. It would be nice to win the next three series going into the All Star break. Go Braves

So, if you ever wondered

…what a scouting report written by Molly Bloom would look like…now you know.

lol

+1, although that post has way too much punctuation

Heningway used all of Joyce’s leftover periods.

HeMingway.

It’s a little dark in here.

i went to sleep after the 10th
Meds quote about last 1/2 inning

Medlen on the 11th inning: “Troy came up with the big double and the tractor-trailers were on base.” (that’d be McCann and Glaus)

Wow.

This is a screenshot of the current (Sat morning around 9 am) headlines on ESPN’s MLB page:

I realize that maybe to national press Braves beating Marlins (even in a comeback win) might not be the most exciting thing, but it has to be bigger news than the Nats signing El Duque or just as big as any of the other games (i.e. Cards/Brewers).

For good comparision

Then go to SI.com’s baseball page. And finally mlb.com.

Here's my idea for a lineup:

1) Prado
2) Escobar (or Infante)
3) Chipper
4) McCann/Glaus
5) Glaus/McCann
6) Hinske/Diaz
7) Melky
8) Pitcher
9) Blanco

The way Gregor’s been hitting lately, wouldn’t it be awesome to have him hitting right in front of Prado (without costing Prado any ABs)? I also think Esco would do better with a bit more protection (and Prado always on base in front of him). My two cents.

How about Blanco leading off. Prado batting second. Drop Escobar to the eight hole and keep the pitcher batting 9th.

I will keep saying it:

Why drop Prado to second? he is ON FIRE leading off

Why do people

Keep suggesting to remove Prado from leadoff position?! He is the reason the Braves took off in early May.

Because some people still remember he was raking in the two spot as well

As much as I loved last night

Anyone else feel a pit in their stomachs when Wes Helms comes off the bench? He’s batted .310 with a .932 OPS his entire career against ATL, and hit 14/30 against the Braves since 2008, with most of those hits in pinch-hit roles, and turning into eventual runs scored. He’s more dangerous than people realize, at least against the Braves!

Wouldn't mind bringing him on next year...

in that corner bench role backing up 3B, 1B, maybe LF. Kind of a right handed Hinske.

Eh

If he was so dangerous he would be a full time starter on a good team. There’s a reason the Braves let him go.

To be honest, Gregor Blanco had a play on the ball if he timed his jump a bit better.

If Blanco made that play, seriously play of the year competing with Buerhle(sp?)

Yeah

I was thrown off by the comment. Blanco made one hell of a play to have a chance at it, and I don’t think we should detract from his work at all.

Thanks bad managing by Marlins

Why would he not have intentionally walked Omar to set up a force at home? Omar’s run did not matter at all. Fredi would have walked him!

Go Braves!

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