The Atlanta Braves are going to the National League Championship Series after a high-drama 5-4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the Division Series at Truist Park on Tuesday night.
With two outs and the score tied 4-4 in the bottom of the eighth, Freddie Freeman did what very few left-handed hitters do: hit a home run off Josh Hader.
Freeman cranked a Hader pitch over the left-center field wall for a go-ahead blast that would serve as the game-winner.
Hader last allowed a homer on July 28, and didn’t allow a homer *all season* to left-handed hitters. Quite a feat from the 2020 NL MVP, and especially considering the moment.
The Braves trailed 2-0 and 4-2 in this game (with each team scoring two runs in the fourth and fifth innings). In the bottom of the fifth, Travis d’Arnaud hit a two-out RBI single to tie the game 4-4.
Atlanta followed that with four scoreless innings from the bullpen, and Will Smith closed it out by striking out Christian Yelich. Milwaukee’s Eduardo Escobar led off the single with a single, but was stranded at first base.
The Braves were NL East champions with 88 wins, while the Brewers won the NL Central with 95 wins. It’s a disappointing exit for a Milwaukee team that looked like a sneaky title contender due to a terrific rotation and Hader in the back of the bullpen.
Atlanta will be underdogs in the best-of-seven NLCS against the San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers (Five Thirty Eight currently gives the Braves a 36% chance to reach the World Series), but they’re playing great baseball at the right time.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.