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MIAMI — The Braves knew they needed to to win their series vs. the Marlins this weekend. In the hunt for a postseason berth, Atlanta entered the series opener on Friday two games back from the Mets and D-backs for the third National League Wild Card spot.
Three games later, Atlanta departed Miami having narrowly avoided a series loss after a 5-4 win in the finale on Sunday at loanDepot park. The Braves (85-71) are 1 1/2 games behind the Mets (86-69) for the final NL Wild Card spot as of final out in Miami; New York and Philadelphia were set to play Sunday night in New York.
“That was one of the harder-fought games I think I’ve been part of in a long time,” manager Brian Snitker said. “I mean, that was pretty good, how [the] guys just kept stepping up.”
While the Braves’ offense certainly stepped up — with a home run apiece from Ozzie Albies and Gio Urshela (3-for-4), plus RBIs from Michael Harris II, Matt Olson and Jorge Soler — it was the bullpen that stole the show.
Until the seventh inning, Miami’s only damage had come via the long ball: Of the Marlins’ five hits entering the seventh, four were solo home runs. The Braves’ staff was delivering results, but a few errant pitches proved destructive.
After Aaron Bummer loaded the bases with no outs to open the seventh before getting a strikeout — the Braves grasping a tenuous one-run lead — Atlanta brought in Hernández looking to escape the bases-loaded jam.
A strikeout and a lineout later to right, Hernández did just that.
“It was just kind of about power,” Snitker said. “Him having the power and hoping he threw it over. And he did. He made some really, really good pitches.”
“He’s built that [reputation], right?” catcher Sean Murphy said. “He’s got big stuff. And, you know, you see him running in, you’re like, ‘It’s this guy who can get us out of here right now.’ We were in a bad spot, and Daysbel with his stuff came in and attacked guys, threw strikes and then ultimately executed.”
For Hernández, who was recalled and optioned five times before he was recalled on Sept. 11, the outing was a big boost in confidence — particularly because his manager trusted him to pitch in the highest-leverage situation he has thus far.
“I knew this was a big game for us and this was a game that we needed to win,” Hernández said via interpreter Franco García. “So to be able to pitch in that, I’m happy and I’m glad that it all worked out. And I’m going to be ready, no matter what situation or how they want to utilize me, whatever they need from me, I’m going to be ready.”
Following Hernández, Raisel Iglesias flirted with ruin in the eighth but stranded two to work his way out of the inning before a 1-2-3 ninth. It was his sixth two-inning outing of the season.
“That’s a grinding game,” Murphy said. “We used the whole bullpen. It was back and forth. They never rolled over on us. And they could have, but they came back, they had those two home runs right away and then made that thing tight all the way through. So that was a great game. It’s just one of those ones that’s fun to play, and more fun to win.”
Perhaps overlooked in it all was Dylan Lee’s effort when he relieved starter Grant Holmes with runners on second and third and no outs in the fifth. Lee set the tone for the rest of the bullpen, getting a pair of strikeouts and a groundout to escape the jam.
Lee’s outing ended in the sixth after he gave up a pair of homers, but that set the table for Pierce Johnson to close out the frame and hold off the Marlins.
“Dylan came in and got those three outs — and it’s so hard to get those outs and then go back out and get another one,” Murphy said. “I know he’s not happy with what he did today, but he picked us up big time again.”
It was Hernández who truly stole the show, though, before Iglesias closed it down, ensuring the Braves maintain their position on the bubble of the NL Wild Card entering a season-defining series against the Mets. The winner of the three-game set, which begins Tuesday, will determine the victor of the season series and, in turn, the tiebreaker.
“We knew it a couple of weeks ago, right? That series is probably going to decide this thing,” Murphy said. “We know what we’re up against. We know what we’ve got to do.”