Braves score six runs in seventh to get jump on Marlins
Ronald Acuña Jr. made history with a leadoff home run to start things off for the Atlanta Braves in their NL Division Series opener against Miami.
And another hit — once more by the Marlins, this time with Sandy Alcantara’s fastball to the left hip — fired up the Braves and fueled their comeback in a 9-5 win Tuesday in Houston.
“I think it woke us up,” said Travis d’Arnaud, who launched a tiebreaking homer during Atlanta’s sixrun rally in the seventh inning . “And we took advantage of that momentum.”
D’Arnaud also doubled and singled in driving in four runs and Dansby Swanson homered during the big comeback to help power Atlanta.
After shutting out Cincinnati for 22 innings during a two-game sweep in the wild- card round, the Braves relied on their bats in this opener. Game 2 of the best- of-5 series is today in Houston.
Acuña got things going for the Braves in the bottom of the first when he sent Alcantara’s second pitch into right- center for a homer. He watched it for a second before flipping his bat and rounding the bases as he became the youngest player (22 years, 293 days old) in
postseason history with a leadoff home run.
Things turned testy in the third when Acuña was nailed by a 98 mph fastball. The showy All- Star outfielder held onto his bat and walked a few steps toward the mound before umpires and Braves coaches surrounded him and directed him away from Alcantara, who had started to walk toward him.
After a short delay, featuring plenty of chirping from both dugouts, Acuña took his base. Umpires warned the teams against further trouble.
There’s already been plenty — in 2018, when Acuña was a rookie and on
a big homer-hitting streak, José Ureña nailed him with a fastball on his first pitch.
He’s become a Marlins target over the years.
“I looked over to their bench and said, ‘ It’s been five times,’ ” Acuña said through a translator. “At this point I think we’ve grown accustomed to it.”
Alcantara said he didn’t intend to hit Acuña and that Miami’s game plan is simply to pitch inside to him, but added some trash talk after the denial.
“If he’s ready to fight, I’m ready to fight, too,” Alcantara said.
• The Marlins left outfielder Starling Marté off their NLDS roster because of a hand injury.
YANKEES 9, RAYS 3>> Giancarlo Stanton hit a grand slam in the ninth inning for New York’s fourth home run of the game, and the Yankees beat Tampa Bay in the opener of their ALDS at San Diego’s Petco Park on Monday night.
The Bronx Bombers became the first team in American League history to hit a grand slam in back-toback playoff games. Gio Urshela did it in Game 2 of the first-round sweep of Cleveland. Two NL teams have done it, the 1977 Dodgers and 2011 Diamondbacks.
The Yankees set a franchise record by hitting at least three home runs in three straight postseason games. They are the second team to do in baseball history after the Rays did it in four straight in 2008.
“That SoCal air, man. That SoCal weather. That’s what it is,” said Stanton, who is from Los Angeles and won the Home Run Derby at Petco Park in 2016. He spent his first eight seasons with the Marlins and has nine homers in 20 games at Petco Park. CLEVINGER LEAVES IN 2ND INNING OF NLDS OPENER VS. DODGERS >> Mike Clevinger’s return to the mound for the San Diego Padres was done after two pitches in the second inning of the NL Division Series opener in Arlington, Texas. Clevinger missed the first round of the playoffs because of elbow impingement but was on the Padres’ 28-player roster for the NL Division
Online: The PadresDodgers and RaysYankees game were still in progress when this edition went to press. For stories and box scores, please visit stats.mercurynews.com/ gamematchups.
Series and started Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
After walking two batters and throwing a wild pitch in a scoreless first, Clevinger threw two balls to Cody Bellinger to start the second. Manager Jayce Tingler and an athletic trainer went to the mound, and after a brief conversation the pitcher left the game.
Clevinger was making only his second start since a two-hit shutout in a seveninning complete game Sept. 13. He left after the first inning of his last regular season start on Sept 23. INDIANS EXPECT MANAGER TERRY FRANCONA BACK >> The Indians expect manager Terry Francona to return for the 2021 season after he missed 48 games in 2020 due to health reasons. Team president Chris Antonetti said the 61-year Francona is back home in Arizona resting and recovering. Francona was hospitalized during the season after undergoing surgery for a gastrointestinal issue and then dealing with blood clotting complications.