Evan Gattis lifts Atlanta Braves to 4-3 victory over Miami Marlins

The Atlanta Braves were coming off one of the more embarrassing losses of the 2014 season on Friday night, and as such, the team was in desperate need of a bounce-back victory on Saturday night in Miami. On cue, Alex Wood put together a quality effort, and despite a bullpen hiccup, the Braves were able to sneak past the hometown Marlins on the back of an Evan Gattis home run in the 10th inning, leading to a 4-3 final margin.

The aforementioned Wood was incredibly effective on this night, and his performance was actually better than a solid final stat line would indicate. The young left-handed allowed two earned runs over seven innings (including one from the eighth inning meltdown by Jordan Walden), and Wood struck out five batters against just two walks. For what seems like the umpteenth time this season, Wood was the “shut down” option for Fredi Gonzalez and the rotation, and it is easy to appreciate what he’s been able to do as a starter.

Offensively, the fireworks began in the fourth inning, as both Andrelton Simmons and Wood strung together RBI singles. It was a classic “dink and dunk” inning that did not have the benefit of a single extra-base hit, but after three runs, it was more than effective. The Marlins got one back in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by Jeff Baker, but until the eighth inning, it looked to be smooth sailing for Atlanta.

Then, Jordan Walden did his damage, as the normally solid set-up man had some issues. Wood walked the lead-off man before being removed from the game, but Walden followed that with a walk of his own (issued to Donovan Solano), and after a groundout from Giancarlo Stanton, Casey McGehee guided a single into center that scored two. Walden actually unleashed a wild pitch after the big damage was done, but fortunately, that pitch did not come back to bite him.

After both teams went scoreless in the ninth, Evan Gattis unleashed the swing of the day, leading off the tenth with what was the game-winning home run. The big blast completed a 3-for-5 night for Atlanta’s backstop, and Gattis was easily the most productive hitter in the lineup on this night.

All told, this was an incredibly important victory for the Atlanta Braves, as they jump back into a tie with the Milwaukee Brewers for the second and final Wild Card spot. There is (obviously) a long way to go, but the Braves can build on this momentum with another victory on Sunday afternoon in South Florida. Stay tuned.