Atlanta Braves Midseason Awards
Moment of The First Half: Opening Night Walk-Off
Debuts. Comebacks. Near no-hitters. The first half of the season was loaded with memorable moments.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of the season came in the first game of the season. It certainly set the tone for the next four months.
For those of you who don’t remember the specifics of what led to Atlanta’s season-opening win, Atlanta was down 5-0 in the sixth inning against the Phillies and Aaron Nola, who seemed to have the game well under control. In one of the most questionable moves of the season, new coach Gabe Kapler pulled Nola after only 68 pitches.
His replacement, Holby Milner, gave up a two-run homer to Freddie Freeman. The Braves went on to score three more runs against the Phillies bullpen, saving Julio Teheran from taking the official loss.
In a tied game in the bottom of the ninth with two men on, Nick Markakis produced his first career walk-off home run.
Markakis is arguably the Braves second best hitter (after Freeman). Seeing him pull through on a late-inning at-bat wasn’t a surprise.
Seeing that much pop out of him after he struggled to hit five home runs all of last season? That was a welcome a surprise. It was also great to see all of the energy bursting from the Braves’ dugout. The guys came out in full support of each other and never thought of themselves as out of the game.
Since then, the Braves have been riding a wave of late-inning success throughout the season. Whether it’s walk-off home runs or squeeze bunts, they find ways to win late in the game.
The timing, shock and the importance of the win to the rest of this season make the opening day walk off one that shouldn’t be forgotten.