Looking to clinch a series win behind Grant Holmes and potentially sweep the Red Sox on Sunday, the Braves came out swinging against Lucas Giolito in Boston. The offense wasted no time, with three 100+ MPH batted balls in the first inning: an Alex Verdugo groundout, a two-run homer from Matt Olson following an Austin Riley walk, and a solo shot by Marcell Ozuna. Just like that, Atlanta took a commanding 3-0 lead before Holmes even took the mound.
Holmes settled in quickly, striking out three of his first six batters over two perfect innings. In the third, Ozuna drew a walk and rookie Drake Baldwin crushed a 112.3 MPH homer down the right-field line that may have been foul, but with no conclusive camera angle, the call stood, making it 5-0 Braves. Boston finally broke through in the bottom half, as a one-out walk turned into a two-run homer by Jarren Duran. Rafael Devers followed with a double and Alex Bregman walked, but Michael Harris ended the threat with an acrobatic leaping grab near the wall.
The Braves added a run in the fourth when Eli White singled, stole second, and scored on a lucky bloop hit from Austin Riley. Olson followed with a rocket single, but Ozuna’s weak grounder ended the inning with Atlanta up 6-2. Giolito was pulled after 87 pitches and four innings of work, while Holmes continued to pitch effectively, working around some traffic to finish six strong innings with five strikeouts, four walks, and just two earned runs.
Things began to unravel in the seventh. Aaron Bummer allowed a leadoff double and an RBI single, cutting the lead to 6-3. Snitker went to Enyel De Los Santos, who allowed an RBI double off the Monster to Bregman before escaping further trouble. In the eighth, Rafael Montero was brought in — a questionable choice with a slim two-run lead — and promptly allowed a double and a single before being pulled. Pierce Johnson came in, gave up a game-tying two-run single to Devers, and was saved only by Baldwin throwing out Devers at second to end the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Marcell Ozuna drew a walk against Aroldis Chapman, and the Braves made some late substitutions — but ultimately came up empty, as Michael Harris struck out to leave two runners stranded. Boston wasted no time in the bottom of the ninth, with Rafael Devers blasting a walk-off home run off Pierce Johnson. It was a brutal and preventable loss, marred by shaky bullpen execution and questionable managerial decisions — a game that never should’ve slipped away.
