Martin's sudden exit knocks Braves off balance

Atlanta had its bullpen lined up exactly as intended, but injury struck

October 4th, 2019

ATLANTA -- For seven innings, Game 1 of the National League Division Series went according to the Braves¡¯ plan.

They secured an early lead, like they did in 75 of their 97 wins this season. Starter only gave up one run in 4 2/3 innings, then manager Brian Snitker used his bullpen exactly the way he wanted. Darren O¡¯Day finished the fifth, setup man neutralized the middle of the Cardinals¡¯ lineup in the sixth, and blew away the three hitters he faced in the seventh.

In the eighth, Snitker summoned right-hander , lined up to face the right-handed middle of St. Louis¡¯ lineup: , and . But the game swung out of Atlanta¡¯s control before Martin could throw his first pitch, as the righty reliever exited the game with a tight left oblique that will likely sideline him for the rest of the series.

By the end of the inning, closer was on the mound earlier than expected, the Braves¡¯ two-run lead was gone, and all their best-laid plans went to waste in a 7-6 loss to the Cards at SunTrust Park on Thursday.

¡°We had the whole thing set up right where we wanted it,¡± Snitker said. ¡°It's exactly what we were working towards throughout the whole game, was to get us to those two guys. And that was a big blow.¡±

Martin said he went through his normal warmup routine before trotting in from the bullpen to pitch the eighth. But he felt his oblique tighten up after throwing a warmup pitch, a two-seam fastball.

¡°That¡¯s kind of a big moment in the game there,¡± catcher said.

Martin was scheduled to undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, but he expected to miss the remainder of the NLDS. With Martin out, the Braves added Julio Teheran to the roster on Friday morning. By rule, with Martin replaced on the NLDS roster, he is also required to miss the NL Championship Series if Atlanta were to advance.

¡°It¡¯s not a good position I put those guys in,¡± Martin said. ¡°It¡¯s tough to come in for an inning like that and have to rush to get ready in front of everybody, especially in a freakin¡¯ playoff game like this. It¡¯s tough. I feel really bad.¡±

The Braves aggressively deployed O¡¯Day in relief of Keuchel, Greene against the heart of the order and Fried for one dominant inning. Snitker could have called on Fried again in the eighth, but he had Martin in mind for that part of the lineup no matter which inning the opportunity presented itself. If Goldschmidt had come to bat in the seventh, Martin would have come in to face him.

¡°It actually lined up just like I wanted it to,¡± Snitker said. ¡°It's just a shame that he got hurt.¡±

Right-hander entered the game, warmed up and allowed a home run on the second pitch he threw to Goldschmidt. That quickly, Atlanta's lead was down to one run.

¡°That's a big at-bat right there. When Martin went down, I just hoped that maybe Luke could get us through three outs and get the ball to Melancon,¡± Snitker said. ¡°And the guy is so dangerous. You're always aware where he's at in the lineup, and it's big. Anytime you get something like that to get you a run closer, that's huge in a game like that.¡±

The Cardinals felt the momentum shift their way, too.

¡°Goldy gets into one, and you know you're a swing away. Definitely got some life back to us,¡± Cards manager Mike Shildt said. ¡°I don't want to minimize that we didn't have life before that. But when you get down 3-1, next thing you know, boom, 3-2, and here we go. Big swing.¡±

After giving up a pair of two-out singles, Jackson gave way to Melancon with the Braves clinging to a one-run lead. Melancon, who recorded more than three outs in eight of his 66 appearances this season, said he wasn¡¯t thrown off by his early entrance. But , pinch-hitting for , immediately tied the game by smacking an outside cutter to left field for an RBI single.

¡°The bullpen did good, in my opinion. It was me that did bad,¡± Melancon said. ¡°I¡¯m going to own that one. That¡¯s on me. I felt like I gave that game away.¡±

Melancon, who assumed the closer¡¯s role within two weeks of the trade that brought him to Atlanta from San Francisco, couldn¡¯t hold the line in the ninth. lined a two-strike single to left. slapped a grounder through the right side, putting runners on the corners with Goldschmidt due up. Melancon pitched around the slugging first baseman, loading the bases for Ozuna.

Melancon got ahead of Ozuna, firing a first-pitch cutter for a called strike before getting Ozuna to whiff on a low curveball. Melancon¡¯s next pitch wasn¡¯t all that different, another curveball below the zone, but Ozuna hit it to left for a tiebreaking two-run double.

¡°They grinded their way, and I tip my cap because it was a good job by them,¡± Melancon said. ¡°In my mind, those pitches have to be better.¡±

and blasted homers off in a three-run ninth, so the Braves might have been able to withstand Ozuna¡¯s double if Melancon escaped without any further damage. But the 34-year-old right-hander had thrown 23 pitches by the time came up with two outs in the top of the inning, and Wong gave the Cardinals some breathing room by swatting Melancon¡¯s first-pitch curveball down the line for a two-run double.

¡°He was victimized by some balls that were hit just right. His leash is pretty good right there, kind of where we're at in our bullpen and how it's been set up,¡± Snitker said. ¡°He's been our guy in the ninth inning, and it's those guys at this time of year are probably going to have a little longer leash than normal.¡±

Melancon took the blame, but at some point, the Braves will wonder what might have happened if Martin hadn¡¯t walked off the mound.

¡°I¡¯d have rather just been out there. It sucks,¡± Martin said. ¡°I¡¯ve never had that happen.¡±

seductrice.net
universo-virtual.com
buytrendz.net
thisforall.net
benchpressgains.com
qthzb.com
mindhunter9.com
dwjqp1.com
secure-signup.net
ahaayy.com
tressesindia.com
puresybian.com
krpano-chs.com
cre8workshop.com
hdkino.org
peixun021.com
qz786.com
utahperformingartscenter.org
worldqrmconference.com
shangyuwh.com
eejssdfsdfdfjsd.com
playminecraftfreeonline.com
trekvietnamtour.com
your-business-articles.com
essaywritingservice10.com
hindusamaaj.com
joggingvideo.com
wandercoups.com
wormblaster.net
tongchengchuyange0004.com
internetknowing.com
breachurch.com
peachesnginburlesque.com
dataarchitectoo.com
clientfunnelformula.com
30pps.com
cherylroll.com
ks2252.com
prowp.net
webmanicura.com
sofietsshotel.com
facetorch.com
nylawyerreview.com
apapromotions.com
shareparelli.com
goeaglepointe.com
thegreenmanpubphuket.com
karotorossian.com
publicsensor.com
taiwandefence.com
epcsur.com
mfhoudan.com
southstills.com
tvtv98.com
thewellington-hotel.com
bccaipiao.com
colectoresindustrialesgs.com
shenanddcg.com
capriartfilmfestival.com
replicabreitlingsale.com
thaiamarinnewtoncorner.com
gkmcww.com
mbnkbj.com
andrewbrennandesign.com
cod54.com
luobinzhang.com
faithfirst.net
zjyc28.com
tongchengjinyeyouyue0004.com
nhuan6.com
kftz5k.com
oldgardensflowers.com
lightupthefloor.com
bahamamamas-stjohns.com
ly2818.com
905onthebay.com
fonemenu.com
notanothermovie.com
ukrainehighclassescort.com
meincmagazine.com
av-5858.com
yallerdawg.com
donkeythemovie.com
corporatehospitalitygroup.com
boboyy88.com
miteinander-lernen.com
dannayconsulting.com
officialtomsshoesoutletstore.com
forsale-amoxil-amoxicillin.net
generictadalafil-canada.net
guitarlessonseastlondon.com
lesliesrestaurants.com
mattyno9.com
nri-homeloans.com
rtgvisas-qatar.com
salbutamolventolinonline.net
sportsinjuries.info
wedsna.com
rgkntk.com
bkkmarketplace.com
zxqcwx.com
breakupprogram.com
boxcardc.com
unblockyoutubeindonesia.com
fabulousbookmark.com
beat-the.com
guatemala-sailfishing-vacations-charters.com
magie-marketing.com
kingstonliteracy.com
guitaraffinity.com
eurelookinggoodapparel.com
howtolosecheekfat.net
marioncma.org
oliviadavismusic.com
shantelcampbellrealestate.com
shopleborn13.com
topindiafree.com
v-visitors.net
djjky.com
053hh.com
originbluei.com
baucishotel.com
33kkn.com
intrinsiqresearch.com
mariaescort-kiev.com
mymaguk.com
sponsored4u.com
crimsonclass.com
bataillenavale.com
searchtile.com
ze-stribrnych-struh.com
zenithalhype.com
modalpkv.com
bouisset-lafforgue.com
useupload.com
37r.net
autoankauf-muenster.com
bantinbongda.net
bilgius.com
brabustermagazine.com
indigrow.org
miicrosofts.net
mysmiletravel.com
selinasims.com
spellcubesapp.com
usa-faction.com
hypoallergenicdogsnames.com
dailyupdatez.com
foodphotographyreviews.com
cricutcom-setup.com
chprowebdesign.com
katyrealty-kanepa.com
tasramar.com
bilgipinari.org
four-am.com
indiarepublicday.com
inquick-enbooks.com
iracmpi.com
kakaschoenen.com
lsm99flash.com
nana1255.com
ngen-niagara.com
technwzs.com
virtualonlinecasino1345.com
wallpapertop.net
casino-natali.com
iprofit-internet.com
denochemexicana.com
eventhalfkg.com
medcon-taiwan.com
life-himawari.com
myriamshomes.com
nightmarevue.com
healthandfitnesslives.com
androidnews-jp.com
allstarsru.com
bestofthebuckeyestate.com
bestofthefirststate.com
bestwireless7.com
britsmile.com
declarationintermittent.com
findhereall.com
jingyou888.com
lsm99deal.com
lsm99galaxy.com
moozatech.com
nuagh.com
patliyo.com
philomenamagikz.net
rckouba.net
saturnunipessoallda.com
tallahasseefrolics.com
thematurehardcore.net
totalenvironment-inthatquietearth.com
velislavakaymakanova.com
vermontenergetic.com
kakakpintar.com
jerusalemdispatch.com
begorgeouslady.com
1800birks4u.com
2wheelstogo.com
6strip4you.com
bigdata-world.net
emailandco.net
gacapal.com
jharpost.com
krishnaastro.com
lsm99credit.com
mascalzonicampani.com
sitemapxml.org
thecityslums.net
topagh.com
flairnetwebdesign.com
rajasthancarservices.com
bangkaeair.com
beneventocoupon.com
noternet.org
oqtive.com
smilebrightrx.com
decollage-etiquette.com
1millionbestdownloads.com
7658.info
bidbass.com
devlopworldtech.com
digitalmarketingrajkot.com
fluginfo.net
naqlafshk.com
passion-decouverte.com
playsirius.com
spacceleratorintl.com
stikyballs.com
top10way.com
yokidsyogurt.com
zszyhl.com
16firthcrescent.com
abogadolaboralistamd.com
apk2wap.com
aromacremeria.com
banparacard.com
bosmanraws.com
businessproviderblog.com
caltonosa.com
calvaryrevivalchurch.org
chastenedsoulwithabrokenheart.com
cheminotsgardcevennes.com
cooksspot.com
cqxzpt.com
deesywig.com
deltacartoonmaps.com
despixelsetdeshommes.com
duocoracaobrasileiro.com
fareshopbd.com
goodpainspills.com
hemendekor.com
kobisitecdn.com
makaigoods.com
mgs1454.com
piccadillyresidences.com
radiolaondafresca.com
rubendorf.com
searchengineimprov.com
sellmyhrvahome.com
shugahouseessentials.com
sonihullquad.com
subtractkilos.com
valeriekelmansky.com
vipasdigitalmarketing.com
voolivrerj.com
worldhealthstory.com
zeelonggroup.com
1015southrockhill.com
10x10b.com
111-online-casinos.com
191cb.com
3665arpentunitd.com
aitesonics.com
bag-shokunin.com
brightotech.com
communication-digitale-services.com
covoakland.org
dariaprimapack.com
freefortniteaccountss.com
gatebizglobal.com
global1entertainmentnews.com
greatytene.com
hiroshiwakita.com
iktodaypk.com
jahatsakong.com
meadowbrookgolfgroup.com
newsbharati.net
platinumstudiosdesign.com
slotxogamesplay.com
strikestaruk.com
techguroh.com
trucosdefortnite.com
ufabetrune.com
weddedtowhitmore.com
12940brycecanyonunitb.com
1311dietrichoaks.com
2monarchtraceunit303.com
601legendhill.com
850elaine.com
adieusolasomade.com
andora-ke.com
bestslotxogames.com
cannagomcallen.com
endlesslyhot.com
iestpjva.com
ouqprint.com
pwmaplefest.com
qtylmr.com
rb88betting.com
buscadogues.com
1007macfm.com
born-wild.com
growthinvests.com
promocode-casino.com
proyectogalgoargentina.com
wbthompson-art.com
whitemountainwheels.com
7thavehvl.com
developmethis.com
funkydogbowties.com
travelodgegrandjunction.com
gao-town.com
globalmarketsuite.com
blogshippo.com
hdbka.com
proboards67.com
outletonline-michaelkors.com
kalkis-research.com
thuthuatit.net
buckcash.com
hollistercanada.com
docterror.com
asadart.com
vmayke.org
erwincomputers.com
dirimart.org
okkii.com
loteriasdecehegin.com
mountanalog.com
healingtaobritain.com
ttxmonitor.com
nwordpress.com
11bolabonanza.com