Atlanta scratched across single runs in the 2nd and 4th, and it looked like it might be enough until Baltimore answered with solo runs in the 8th and 9th to tie it back up. Neither pen would budge from there until the 11th, when the Braves finally broke through with the go-ahead run and made it stick for a 3-2 final — enough to salvage the series finale and leave Camden Yards with the series, 2 games to 1.
It took 11 innings and 14 combined hits to settle, with an error on each side along the way. Not exactly the type of game that jumps off the box score, but a needed one for an Atlanta club that's spent the last few weeks looking mortal after an early-season tear, and a solid building block for a Baltimore bullpen that's been shaky more often than not this year.
The bigger story for Atlanta might be what's coming, not what already happened. Acuña reached base twice in his latest rehab outing and has been cleared to be activated as soon as Monday, giving a Braves lineup that's cooled off a real jolt heading into a series with the Mets. Baltimore doesn't have that kind of reinforcement on the way — this is a last-place club trying to find stability with its top two catchers both out.
Atlanta leaves Baltimore still sitting atop the NL East, and the return of its best player only adds to the buzz around a club that's been through a rough patch but never actually fell out of first. The Orioles head home from this series having shown some fight — Baz in particular looked like a guy trending toward being a real trade chip or building block — but the record still says last place, and shaky defense behind an inexperienced catching corps isn't going away overnight.