Detroit Tigers spoil Reese Olson's outing in 2-1 loss to Atlanta Braves

ATLANTA — The Detroit Tigers have done a lot of things right.

Right-hander Reese Olson, who grew up 60 miles from Atlanta, pitched six scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in a brilliant comeback performance; Riley Greene played a key role in scoring a run against left-hander Max Fried with an RBI single in the sixth inning. But these successes were not enough as the Tigers could not resist the Atlanta Braves in the late innings.

The Tigers lost to the Braves, 2-1, on Monday in the first game of a three-game series at Truist Park, marking their fifth loss in the last seven games and their eighth loss in the last 11 games. The Braves scored a run in the seventh and eighth innings against two relievers.

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Despite an encouraging start, the Tigers (34-38) squandered their 1-0 advantage in the seventh inning after right-handed reliever Will Vest replaced Olson.

The Braves tied the game, 1-1, on Forrest Wall’s RBI single against Vest with two strikes and two outs in the seventh inning.

The seventh inning began with Austin Riley’s double down the left field line, and although Vest responded with two outs, he hooked a slider to the middle of the plate. The missed location allowed Wall to have enough of the lateral and drive in the runner from third base.

The Braves then took a 2-1 lead – the winning run – on Ozzie Albies’ solo homer off right-handed reliever Shelby Miller with two outs in the eighth inning.

Miller threw three fastballs in a row.

Albies crushed the third fastball – a 93.6 mph heater from the middle of the strike zone – for a 407-foot homer to right field.

After Monday’s loss, the Tigers’ bullpen ranks 26th in MLB with a 4.76 ERA since April 15. (The Tigers’ bullpen ranked No. 1 in MLB with a 1.86 ERA from March 28 to April 15.)

For the Braves, right-handed reliever Joe Jiménez – who the Tigers traded for Justyn-Henry Malloy in December 2022 – retired all three batters against his former team in the top of the ninth inning, effectively ending the game.

It was Jiménez’s first stop in his two-year career with the Braves, after spending six seasons with the Tigers. He has a 2.89 ERA over 28 innings in 28 games in 2024.

Riley Greene breaks the ice

The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the sixth inning.

Three batters reached safely in a row against Fried: Andy Ibáñez (single), Mark Canha (walk) and Greene (single). Greene, a left-handed hitter who typically struggles against left-handed pitchers, drilled a two-strike slider up and down into right field, scoring Ibáñez from second base.

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Fried, one of the best lefties in the National League, allowed one run on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 5⅓ innings, throwing 103 pitches.

The Tigers had an opportunity to score runs in the fourth inning when three batters reached safely with two outs in the fourth inning: Greene (walk), Gio Urshela (single) and Malloy (walk). It was all for naught as Colt Keith grounded out on a first-pitch sinker to strand the bases loaded.

A bad call

After Greene’s RBI single, Fried struck out Urshela for the first out of the sixth inning before exiting, replaced by right-handed reliever Jesse Chavez, who struck out Malloy for the second out.

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The runners – Canha and Greene – advanced to third and second base, respectively, due to hesitation with Keith at the plate.

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