Albies Eighth-Inning Single Sinks LA, Braves Hold 4-3
Ozzie Albies singled to center in the eighth inning to score Matt Olson, swinging Atlanta's win probability from 59% to 84% and delivering the decisive blow in a 4-3 Braves win over the Dodgers. Albies finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, bookending a game he opened with a sacrifice fly and closed with a walk-off single.
Atlanta came out swinging in the first inning and made it look easy — until it wasn't. Dubón singled to right to score Baldwin, then Harris II followed with another single to right to score Olson, and Albies capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to center to score Dubón. Just like that, the Braves were up 3-0 before the Dodgers had recorded a meaningful out. The story of the night was whether Los Angeles could claw back from that hole, and for a few innings, the answer looked like yes.
The Dodgers answered immediately. In the second, Thomas singled to right to score Edman, then Feduccia singled to left to score Tucker — suddenly it was 3-2. Los Angeles kept the pressure on, and in the fourth, Call singled to center to score Edman and knot the game at 3-3. That comeback, built on a string of clutch singles from a lineup that appeared to have no quit in it, looked like it might be enough. Call and Feduccia each went 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Thomas added a 1-for-3, 1-RBI line — three contributors who refused to let the early deficit stand.
But Albies had the last word. With Olson on base in the eighth, Albies lined a single to center to score him, pushing Atlanta's win probability from 59% to 84% in a single swing. That was the ballgame. On the mound, Bryce Elder gave Atlanta 6.0 innings of work, allowing 8 hits and 3 earned runs with 5 strikeouts and zero walks — a workmanlike outing that looks, in hindsight, like exactly what the Braves needed to stay in front long enough for their offense to finish the job. Tyler Glasnow was sharp for Los Angeles — 7 strikeouts over 5.0 innings, 0 walks — but 3 earned runs on 6 hits left the door open just wide enough. Raisel Iglesias locked it down with a clean inning of relief for Atlanta. The Braves win 4-3.