A short time ago, we covered an extensive series on the greatest comebacks in Major League Baseball history. While that was an intensive look at the broader spectrum of things around the league, this writer would like to make things a little more personal and a lot more focused. That’s why, beginning with this and going over the next five weeks, we will be diving into the greatest Atlanta Braves comebacks. The Braves have certainly had their fair share of exciting last minute miracles. Many of these have come at the behest of or because of players who are either currently enshrined in Cooperstown or will soon have plaques there. In any case, these are the biggest Atlanta Braves comebacks of all time.
First, let’s set some ground rules. These are the top five comebacks as recorded by Baseball Reference’s percentages. As such, there might be one or two on here where collective agreement is put on the back burner in favor of being statistically honest. Another rule is that these are comebacks by the Atlanta Braves. So, in light of that, the Boston Braves and the Milwaukee Braves will not be considered. Now that we understand where we stand and where we’re going, let’s not waste any more time and dive right in to the first of the five best Atlanta Braves comebacks.
Top Five Atlanta Braves Comebacks: #5
July 20, 2012: @ Washington Nationals
In 2012, both the Braves and the Washington Nationals were in positions of power in the National League East. The Nationals, up until this point, had struggled to maintain pace with their divisional counterparts, were in the proverbial driver’s seat. Meanwhile, the Braves were hot on their heels. Thus it was that on an extremely windy night in our nation’s capital, the two met. Going into this game, the Nationals were 53-37 and the Braves were 50-41. Both were excellent records in their own right and each team had a solid claim as to the top squad in the NL East. So it was that the two came to blows in what appeared to be just another game, but would turn out to be one of the best of the summer.
2012 Atlanta Braves
The 2012 Braves were a team seeking a fair deal of vengeance upon their competition. In 2011, the Braves had been edged out of a playoff spot thanks to a loss in game 162. Thus the team was certainly looking to elbow its way to the proverbial table of playoff treats. Certainly, they had players with the proper appetite. Chipper Jones was still the unabashed leader of the locker room. Brian McCann, Martin Prado, and David Ross were reliable veterans. Freddie Freeman and Andrelton Simmons were rising stars. On the mound, Tim Hudson and Mike Minor led one of the better rotations in the league. Meanwhile, the big three of Eric O’Flaherty, Jonny Venters, and Craig Kimbrel shut opponents down in the late innings.
Unfortunately for Braves fans, this seemingly well oiled machine could only manage a second place finish in the division. The good news was that this was the first season of the expanded postseason with two Wild Card games. The Braves headed to the National League iteration against the St. Louis Cardinals…and promptly experienced something that could be considered a franchise tragedy. Yes, this was the “infield fly rule” affair, where a ball that was halfway into the outfield was deemed to be an infield fly, thus helping to end a potential Braves rally. This sent Turner Field into an uproar, and, in a move that helped to tarnish the fanbase a bit, people began throwing debris onto the field. So it was that a very promising 2012 came to a disappointing, rather ugly conclusion.
2012 Washington Nationals
On the other side of the diamond, the 2012 Nationals played well enough to win the division and make their first playoff appearance since moving from Montreal. They had many of the same components as the Braves did. Their wily veterans were Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, and Adam LaRoche. Young up and comers like Ian Desmond made their mark as well. On the mound, the team was led by Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, and Stephen Strasburg. However, the centerpiece of the entire operation was a rookie named Bryce Harper. He, along with the aforementioned pieces, brought the Nationals their first division crown since the Expos won the strike-shortened 1994 title.
In any case, it was the best season in franchise history up to that point. Unfortunately for the Nationals, they, much like the Braves, were upended by the Cardinals. Only, their demise came in five games instead of just the one. Manager Davey Johnson and his crew were able to push St. Louis to the absolute brink. However, thanks to some timely hitting from guys like Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Alan Craig, and Daniel Descalso, things did not fall the Nationals’ way. On the night of July 20th, they could not have seen this coming; nor did they, after building a nine run lead in five innings, foresee the absolute implosion of their vaunted bullpen.
A Disappointing Beginning
In terms of pitching, Washington put Strasburg on the hill while Atlanta countered with young prospect Tommy Hanson. The game began innocently enough, until Hanson ran into some trouble and Mike Morse (then known as Michael Morse) hit a three-run homer. Things remained quiet until the bottom of the fourth, when Zimmerman went deep off Hanson to score three more runs. In the next inning, Hanson was pulled after two batters and Luis Avilan was called on in relief. Unfortunately for Atlanta, he couldn’t quite hold Washington and gave up three more runs. One was on a bases loaded walk to Strasburg himself and the other was a two-run single by Steve Lombardozzi. The Braves were flailing, down 9-0 after five innings.
However, they weren’t dead yet as Freeman led off the sixth with a solid single. McCann followed this by cracking a two-run homer to right field. Three batters later, Strasburg was removed and replaced by former Brave Mike Gonzalez. He got Michael Bourn to strike out with runners on second and third, but gave up a two run single to Prado, cutting the Nationals’ lead to five. After another period of relative silence from both sides, the Braves erupted in the top of the eighth for four runs off Drew Storen and Sean Burnett.
The Eighth Inning and Beyond
Storen allowed the first three batters to reach before getting pulled. Burnett came in and recorded back-to-back strikeouts before giving up back-to-back walks. The second of these was a bases loaded free pass to Hayward, cutting the lead to 9-5. Jones and Freeman followed with two straight singles, bringing in three more runs and making it a one run contest. The Braves’ ability to never say die would be tested tremendously over the next frame, however. Bourn tripled home the tying and go-ahead runs off Clippard in the top of the ninth. Then, in the bottom of the inning, Danny Espinosa hit a game tying home run off of Kimbrel. The game was far from over.
Neither team did much in the tenth inning, with the only highlight being a Zimmerman single. Then, in the top of the 11th, Dan Uggla led off with a solid base hit off Tom Gorzelanny. The next batter was journeyman shortstop Paul Janish. Thanks to Nationals backup catcher Sandy Leon, the Braves received a free base on a passed ball. Then, three pitches later, Janish popped one up that shortstop Desmond couldn’t quite reach. Uggla came around to score the go-ahead run. The Nationals couldn’t respond in their half of the inning,, getting set down in order by Chad Durbin.
Photo Credit- Charles LeClaire- USA TODAY Sports
