An Error, an Out, a Hit

Four runners were placed at second base after the ninth inning on Friday night at Truist Park, and all four of them scored. Of the five extra-inning runs, the one that ended the game was the only one that had to reach base on its own.

Atlanta 6, Philadelphia 5, in eleven, in front of 40,161, after a 47-minute rain delay pushed the first pitch to 8:02. Atlanta trailed with three outs left in the ninth, the tenth and the eleventh, and tied it each time by a different route.

Chris Sale's night turned on one inning. Two quick outs in the second — a groundout, a line drive to right that Ronald Acuña Jr. caught — and nobody on. Then Edmundo Sosa singled, Bryan De La Cruz walked on seven pitches, J.T. Realmuto was hit by the first pitch he saw, and Derek Hill lined a 1-2 fastball off the center-field wall for three. Twenty-eight pitches in that inning; fifty for the five that followed. Seven innings, 94 pitches, three hits, three runs. Twenty-one outs and three earned runs is a quality start, his nineteenth in 26, and his ERA moved from 2.10 to 2.18.

Aaron Nola went six and a third on 101 pitches and gave up two solo home runs: Matt Olson's 38th in the first, 352 feet to left, and Austin Riley's 17th leading off the seventh, 434 feet to left-center at 109.8 mph, the hardest-hit ball of the night.

The ninth, down 3-2 against Jonathan Bowlan. Riley struck out. Mike Yastrzemski singled, his third hit in three at-bats, and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. — recalled from Gwinnett before the game, when Lane Thomas went on the 10-day injured list with a strained left intercostal, for his first game as a Brave — ran for him. Sean Murphy hit a ground ball up the middle at 100.8 mph. Hill misplayed it in center, his second error of the season, and Keirsey scored from first. The tying run came home on a mistake. Ha-Seong Kim ran for Murphy, which sent Drake Baldwin behind the plate and the pitcher's spot into the order. Baldwin was hit by a 2-2 pitch; Acuña flied out; Olson grounded out. 3-3.

The tenth. Bryson Stott was placed at second for Philadelphia and Justin Crawford singled him home on the first pitch from Raisel Iglesias, a run in Iglesias's line from a man he never pitched to. Olson was placed at second for Atlanta and Brewer Hicklen ran for him. Michael Harris II grounded out on the first pitch, Hicklen went to third, and Mauricio Dubón flied to center on the first pitch, deep enough. 4-4. Two pitches, two outs, no hits, one run.

The eleventh. Garrett Stubbs ran for the placed Kyle Schwarber; Bryce Harper's grounder deflected off Dominic Smith at first, and Luis Arraez's 68-mph flare to left scored Stubbs. Didier Fuentes struck out Alec Bohm, walked Stott to load the bases and got Crawford to ground out. 5-4.

Ozzie Albies was placed at second for Atlanta. Riley grounded out to short against Chase Shugart. Brooks Raley came in and Smith popped to third on the first pitch. Two out. Kim, who on Thursday "came to the park hitting .110" and "singled to center for two," came to this one at .126 and lined a 1-1 changeup to left at 106.3 mph. Albies scored. 5-5. Baldwin took a 2-2 sweeper at 81.8 mph and hit it on a line to center, and Kim scored from first.

It was not Baldwin's first walk-off hit. MLB.com records the first on May 8, 2025, against Cincinnati — eleventh inning, two out, and the man who scored was the placed runner, Ozzie Albies. Friday: eleventh inning, two out, and the placed runner who scored just before Baldwin's hit was Ozzie Albies.

The six-game home test I set on Tuesday reads 1, 2, 3 and 6 — twelve runs through four games, three of Friday's six scored after the ninth and two of those by placed runners. The sixth game is Sunday.

Atlanta are 87-61, five games clear of Philadelphia with fourteen to play; the season series is 8-3 with two left, so Philadelphia can finish it no better than 5-8, and MLB's magic number reads 9. Saturday is Tyler Mahle at 7:15, against a Philadelphia starter MLB's feed had not listed at midnight; Sunday is Andrew Painter against Grant Holmes at 1:35.

A September walk-off over the club chasing you is worth what the standings say. The lead was four on Thursday night and is five now. The night itself was eleven runs, four of which began an inning standing on second base, and one that began with a line drive to left off the bat of a man hitting .126. There is no rule for that.