Ozzie Albies, Eddie Rosario score in Braves win

ATLANTA — With just two hits in the first 6 2/3 innings of Saturday’s opener against the Cardinals, the Braves were in danger of being held scoreless for the third time in five games.

Eddie Rosario and Ozzie Albies had other ideas. Rosario hit a game-tying, two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, and Albies’ sacrifice fly in the bottom of the tenth helped Atlanta earn a 3-2 victory in the opener of a split doubleheader at Truist Park.

Cardinals starting pitcher Kyle Gibson gave Atlanta’s hitters a hard time over his first six innings of work, allowing just two hits and keeping the Braves off the board.

With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Travis d’Arnaud singled. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol decided to pull Gibson and bring in Ryan Fernandez to face Rosario in relief. Rosario greeted Fernandez with a 360-foot home run projected by Statcast into the right-field chop house.

“I feel blessed,” Rosario said. “I want to thank Braves Country. I love it when they say my name and it makes me feel really good.”

It was Rosario’s eighth home run of the year in his first game in Atlanta since returning to the Braves after Atlanta selected his contract on July 8. It was also Rosario’s first regular-season game at Truist Park as a member of the Braves since Oct. 1, 2023.

“He took some big hits,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s got no pulse, for sure. The situation’s not going to bother him. He’s an aggressive guy.”

Rosario’s home run came against a 1-0 slider – the second pitch Fernandez threw in his appearance.

“He threw the first pitch to me outside, he threw (the second pitch) up the middle, I had a good swing (on the ball),” Rosario said.

Gibson left the game with 100 pitches, and Snitker said he wasn’t surprised Marmol went to his bullpen with two down and a runner on base in the bottom of the seventh.

“I figured he was on the field and if they could get him to play one more inning, that would be great,” Snitker said. “If that first guy had made it, I expected the Cardinals to come get him.”

Fernandez had given up two home runs before Saturday’s game, both against left-handed hitters. Rosario was the last lefty to hit the rookie.

“Fernandez, if you look at him, has been one of the best in the league — not just on our team, but in the league — at getting in (with traffic) and leaving runners out,” Marmol said. “(Gibson) is at his best, Rosario isn’t walking (much) and the fact that he got a walk against (Gibson in the fifth inning) means he’s seeing well. So, giving (Gibson) a chance against Rosario is possible, but our bullpen has been our strong point. We’ve used Fernandez, we’ve used him quite a bit, and he’s done a really good job, but it didn’t work out today.”

Gibson pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits and two walks and struck out six batters.

“We had a hard time reaching him, that’s for sure,” Snitker said.

In extra innings, Pierce Johnson pitched a scoreless 10th inning, helped by an unassisted double play by Matt Olson that ended the top half of the inning and preserved the tie.

Adam Duvall was the Braves’ leadoff runner in the bottom of the 10th, and a Zack Short sacrifice bunt advanced him to third base. Jarred Kelenic walked, took second base on defensive indifference, and Albies scored Duvall with a sacrifice fly to center field.

On the mound for the Braves, Charlie Morton earned a no-decision after allowing one run on six hits in six innings and one walk with four strikeouts.

The Braves bullpen was solid again, allowing one run on three hits and one walk in four innings of work.

Atlanta is 7-3 in extra innings, and the win marks the Braves’ 21st comeback victory this season. It’s Atlanta’s fifth win of the season.

The Braves played a bit of small ball with two sacrifice bunts in the game, matching the club total for sacrifice bunts through the first 95 games. The second sacrifice bunt — Short’s in the bottom of the 10th — moved the eventual winning run to third. It was the first time the Braves had recorded multiple sacrifice bunts in a single game since Aug. 14, 2021.