Tampa Bay at Atlanta

Tampa Bay at Atlanta

This is Missed It. Tampa Bay at Atlanta, Wednesday, September 9, 87 and partly cloudy at Truist Park, with the Rays. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves. That's the whole table tonight, and honestly, that's all we need. We're on the road, we've got the bats warmed up, and we're looking to make some noise against the Braves. First pitch is coming up, and we've got a good feeling about this one.

Innings 1-3

Top of the first, we send three batters to the plate and we're back in the dugout. Nothing doing. Score stays zero-zero. Bottom of the first, the Braves do the same thing. Three up, three down. We're scoreless through one. Then the top of the second happens. One out, bases empty, and Victor Mesa Jr. steps in. He gets a pitch he likes and he doesn't miss it. That ball is crushed to right center field, and it's gone. Mesa Jr. circles the bases, and just like that, we're up one-nothing. The dugout is alive. That's how you start a rally. And we're not done. Two outs now, and we've got two runners on base. Jorge Mateo comes to the plate, and he laces a line drive to center field. Michael Harris II gives chase, but that ball is by him. Chandler Simpson scores. Richie Palacios scores. Mateo's on first, and we've got a three-nothing lead. Two outs, two on, and we cash in. That's the kind of hitting that wins ballgames. Bottom of the second, the Braves send four batters up, but they can't push anything across. We hold them. Three-nothing after two. Top of the third, we go quietly. Three batters, back to the dugout. Bottom of the third, the Braves do the same. Three up, three down. We're through three innings, and we've got a three-run lead. The pitching is sharp, the defense is clean, and the bats are doing exactly what we need them to do.

Innings 4-6

Top of the fourth, and we're not letting up. No outs, two runners on, and Cedric Mullins steps in. He drives a line drive to left field. Mike Yastrzemski can't get there. Victor Mesa Jr. scores. Chandler Simpson moves to third. Mullins is on first, and we're up four-nothing. The inning keeps rolling. No outs, still two on, and now Richie Palacios is up. He does the exact same thing. Line drive to left field, Yastrzemski again can't make the play. Chandler Simpson scores. Cedric Mullins moves to second. Five-nothing. We're pouring it on now. One out, two on, and Yandy Díaz comes to the plate. He gets a pitch he can lift, and he sends it deep enough to center field. Michael Harris II settles under it, makes the catch, and Cedric Mullins tags up and scores. Richie Palacios moves to third. Six-nothing. Sacrifice fly, textbook baseball, and we've blown this game wide open. That's the inning. Seven batters, three runs, and we're up six-nothing heading into the bottom of the fourth. This is exactly the kind of start you dream about on the road.

The Sequence

Bottom of the fourth, and the Braves finally answer. No outs, bases empty, and Drake Baldwin steps in. He gets a pitch and he sends it deep to center field. That ball is gone. Baldwin homers, and just like that, it's six-one. We've still got a five-run lead, but they've got life now. Top of the fifth, we send five batters up but can't add on. Six-one. Bottom of the fifth, the Braves go quietly. Three up, three down. Top of the sixth, we go quietly too. Three batters, back to the dugout. Still six-one. Bottom of the sixth, and the Braves start to threaten. One out, a runner on, and Ronald Acuña Jr. steps in. He rips a sharp line drive to center field. Cedric Mullins gives chase, but that ball is by him. Drake Baldwin moves to third. Acuña's on second with a double. The tying run is not in the dugout yet, but the pressure is building. One out, two on, and Matt Olson comes to the plate. He gets a pitch he can lift, and he sends it deep enough to center field. Cedric Mullins settles under it, makes the catch, and Drake Baldwin tags up and scores. Six-two. Olson's out, but the Braves have cut the lead to four. Top of the seventh, and we need an answer. One out, two on, and Liam Hicks steps in. He gets a pitch he likes, and he drives a sharp line drive to right field. Ronald Acuña Jr. can't get there. Jonathan Aranda scores. Junior Caminero moves to third. Hicks is on first, and we're back up by five. Seven-two. That's the run we needed. Bottom of the seventh, the Braves send three batters up and can't score. Seven-two. Top of the eighth, we go quietly. Bottom of the eighth, they go quietly too. Top of the ninth, three batters, back to the dugout. Bottom of the ninth, the Braves get four batters up, but they can't push anything across. That's the ballgame.

Wrap-up

Final score, Tampa Bay Rays seven, Atlanta Braves two. We came in, we took control early, and we never let go. Victor Mesa Jr. got us started, Jorge Mateo cashed in, Cedric Mullins and Richie Palacios kept the line moving, and Liam Hicks put the exclamation point on it. That's a complete game on the road. We'll take this one, and we'll come back tomorrow ready to do it again.

Outro

That was Tampa Bay at Atlanta, from the Rays side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.

Tampa Bay at Atlanta

This is Missed It. Tampa Bay at Atlanta, Wednesday, September 9, 87 and partly cloudy at Truist Park, with the Braves. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.

Pregame

It's Tampa Bay Rays at Atlanta Braves, and we are here at home, ready to go. The Braves are looking to get this one started right, and we've got a full night of baseball ahead of us. First pitch is in, and we're underway.

Innings 1-3

Top of the first, and the Rays send three batters to the plate. Nothing doing. Three up, three down, and we're still at zeroes. Score 0 to 0. Bottom of the first, our turn. Three batters for Atlanta, and we can't get anything going either. Quick inning, and we're back out there. Score 0 to 0. Top of the second, and this one starts to slip. One out, bases empty, and Victor Mesa Jr. gets a hold of one. He homers on a fly ball to right center field, and just like that, Tampa Bay has the lead. 1 to 0. That one stung. We needed a clean inning, and instead, they've got the first run of the ballgame. But they're not done. Two outs now, two on, and Jorge Mateo steps in. He singles on a line drive to center fielder Michael Harris II, and Chandler Simpson scores. Richie Palacios scores too. Just like that, it's 3 to 0. Two runs on that single, and the Rays have blown this one open in the second. We're down three, and we haven't even had a real chance to answer. Bottom of the second, and we send four batters to the plate. No runs. We get a little something going, but nothing crosses. Score still 3 to 0. Top of the third, and the Rays send three batters up. No runs. Good, we needed that. We stopped the bleeding, at least for now. Score 3 to 0. Bottom of the third, three batters for us. No runs. We're still chasing. Score 3 to 0.

Innings 4-6

Top of the fourth, and this is where it gets ugly. No outs, two on, and Cedric Mullins singles on a line drive to left fielder Mike Yastrzemski. Victor Mesa Jr. scores, Chandler Simpson moves to third. 4 to 0. We're digging a deeper hole, and the Rays are not letting up. Still no outs, two on, and Richie Palacios singles on a line drive to left fielder Mike Yastrzemski. Chandler Simpson scores, Cedric Mullins to second. 5 to 0. Two more hits, two more runs, and this game is starting to feel out of reach. One out, two on, and Yandy Díaz steps in. He hits a sacrifice fly to center fielder Michael Harris II, and Cedric Mullins scores. Richie Palacios to third. 6 to 0. Three runs in the inning, and we are staring at a six-run deficit. This is not where we wanted to be.

The Sequence

Bottom of the fourth, and we need something. Anything. No outs, bases empty, and Drake Baldwin steps in. He homers on a fly ball to center field. 6 to 1. There it is. That's a little life. That's a spark. We're still down five, but we got one back, and the crowd is starting to believe again. Top of the fifth, and the Rays send five batters to the plate. No runs. We held them. We needed that. Score still 6 to 1. Bottom of the fifth, three batters for us. No runs. We can't string anything together. Score 6 to 1. Top of the sixth, three batters for Tampa Bay. No runs. Another clean inning. We're keeping ourselves in this, but we need to start scoring. Score 6 to 1. Bottom of the sixth, and here we go. One out, a runner on, and Ronald Acuña Jr. steps in. He doubles on a sharp line drive to center fielder Cedric Mullins, and Drake Baldwin moves to third. That's a big hit. That's the kind of swing that can turn a game. We've got runners at second and third, one out, and we're down five. One out, two on, and Matt Olson steps in. He hits a sacrifice fly to center fielder Cedric Mullins, and Drake Baldwin scores. 6 to 2. We're chipping away. Four runs to go, and we've got the momentum. The dugout is alive, the crowd is loud, and we're right back in this thing. Top of the seventh, and the Rays answer. One out, two on, and Liam Hicks singles on a sharp line drive to right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. Jonathan Aranda scores, Junior Caminero to third. 7 to 2. That one hurts. We had the momentum, we had the crowd, and they took it right back. Five-run lead again, and we're running out of time. Bottom of the seventh, three batters for us. No runs. We can't get anything going. Score 7 to 2. Top of the eighth, three batters for Tampa Bay. No runs. We held them again, but it doesn't matter if we can't score. Score 7 to 2. Bottom of the eighth, three batters for us. No runs. We're running out of chances. Score 7 to 2. Top of the ninth, three batters for the Rays. No runs. We get the ball back one more time, down five. Score 7 to 2. Bottom of the ninth, and we send four batters to the plate. No runs. We go down swinging, but we go down. The final is 7 to 2, Tampa Bay by five.

Wrap-up

That one got away from us early, and we never quite caught up. The homer from Victor Mesa Jr. in the second set the tone, and the Rays kept adding on. We had our moments, Drake Baldwin's homer and Ronald Acuña Jr.'s double gave us hope, but it wasn't enough. Final score, Tampa Bay 7, Atlanta 2. We take this one on the chin, and we move on. There's always tomorrow.

Outro

That was Tampa Bay at Atlanta, from the Braves side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.