Last night, the Atlanta Braves did what the Los Angeles Dodgers weren’t able to do: find some life.
A game and a half into the series, the Braves looked like they were out. But ultimately, the sticks fell and Atlanta became Atlanta again by winning Game #2.
Austin Riley is notably to thank. His home run at the end of the game, which restored the lead to his team, was important for the Braves.
But this morning, we are mainly talking about his defensive involvement in the last (superb) play of the match.
Obviously, Michael Harris II is to be congratulated first and foremost. He sacrificed his body into the fence in order to retire the batter.
But what Riley did is also noteworthy.
Going to cover the middle of the infield was frankly well done. It’s the kind of play that you can’t really teach in baseball: it comes instinctively or it doesn’t come at all.
Many people have made the comparison to Derek Jeter’s “The Flip.”
I don’t agree with those who say Riley’s game is better than Jeter’s, but they certainly compare. Riley himself says it’s about momentum more than anything else.
This was all made possible because Bryce Harper was too aggressive on the trails.
Like everyone else, he shouldn’t have expected the ball to be caught and he decided to go for it all to tie the game. It did not work.
If the ball had dropped, everyone would have praised his run. But that didn’t happen and he knows he made a mistake. He doesn’t hide it: he’s going to have to live with that.
If the Braves win the series, he’s going to beat himself on the head all winter, I’m sure.
Harper is recognized as a player who manages to stand up on big occasions. Being on the wrong side of history in such a game should not make one happy.
He knows that, in hindsight, he should not have gone beyond the second cushion.
I like, at least, to see him being accountable for his decision. He has matured because before, he would have cried on the pitch and/or in front of the media.
There, he made a man of himself, as they say.
However, I think he will take note of the fact that some Braves players, during the short post-game celebrations, taunted him.
