Braves rally falls short as the Orioles win 5-4

The Braves rallied from a late deficit against the Orioles to tie the game, only to see the winning run driven in in the top of the 9th as the Braves fell to the Orioles 5-4

Jaime Garcia had himself a decent outing, including a strong start where he seemed to be striking out Orioles with impunity. He got himself in trouble at times, allowing an RBI triple to Ryan Flaherty and then a 2-run single to Pedro Alvarez in the 3rd, but looked good beyond that.

For a large part of the game, the bulk of the offense struggled with the notable exception of Freddie Freeman who looks like the player that tore the cover off the ball for the second half of last season. A potential NL MVP candidate, Freddie went 2-2 before being replaced by a pinch runner to continue to raise his spring training OPS to well over 1.100 now.

Fresh off making the Opening Day roster, Emilio Bonifacio reached base 3 times including a pair of walks, but the news for the rest of the lineup was less than exciting until the bottom of the 8th inning. After back to back walks from Bonifacio and Rio Ruiz, Matt Tuiasosopo hit a two-run double to bring the Braves deficit down to 4-3. Dylan Moore then singled Tuiasosopo home and the Braves were back in business with the game tied 4-4.

Eric O’Flaherty came in for the 9th inning and after a walk and then a balk which put the runner on 2nd base, pinch-hitter Austin Hays hit an RBI single to put the Orioles out in front again 5-4. This turn of events is not likely going to make the many folks puzzled at EOF’s inclusion on the roster any happier. This proved to be the winning run as the Braves went quietly in the bottom of the 9th.