Duvall's pinch-hit blast 'what you dream about'
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ATLANTA -- As soon as Adam Duvall stepped into the on-deck circle to pinch-hit in the seventh inning, the second-guessing began. When he walked to the plate, the booing started. Most of the 42,911 fans at SunTrust Park on Friday made their stance clear in that moment: They wanted to see more of starter Mike Foltynewicz, which meant they did not want to see Duvall at all.
Seven pitches later, Duvall delivered what manager Brian Snitker later called “that boo-yeah moment.”
The home crowd’s fears and jeers turned to cheers when Duvall slugged a full-count fastball from Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty to center field, giving the Braves a comfortable lead and providing the bullpen with some breathing room in Atlanta’s 3-0, series-balancing Game 2 victory.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 3 | STL 7, ATL 6 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 4 | ATL 3, STL 0 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 6 | ATL 3, STL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 7 | STL 5, ATL 4 (10) | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 9 | STL 13, ATL 1 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “The fans let me know they wanted him to stay in, which we all did,” Duvall said. “I just wanted to have a good at-bat and go up there and try to make it worth it, because he was grooving out there. It was impressive to watch and it was fun to watch, fun to be a part of.”
Before the ball cleared the fence in center field, fans had their reservations. Why pull Foltynewicz when he had cruised through seven innings on 81 pitches, especially one night after the Braves' bullpen coughed up a lead? If the situation was important enough for a pinch-hitter, why not pinch-run for catcher Brian McCann at first base? And why go to Duvall, who hadn’t hit a homer off the bench since Aug. 16, 2017?
Rather than shouting those questions in unison, fans registered their displeasure with a chorus of boos. In the dugout, Foltynewicz heard it differently.
“I thought they were like, ‘Doov! Doov!’” Foltynewicz said.
“That’s what I was saying,” Duvall responded.
While Flaherty held the Braves to just one run through the first six innings on Friday night, Duvall talked to his teammates in the dugout about what they were seeing. When he went to the plate, he made a point of seeing a handful of pitches from St. Louis’ second-half star. Throughout the at-bat, he waited for a pitch up in the zone. After seeing back-to-back sliders, Duvall got a high fastball and crushed it.
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“We had the right pitch call,” Flaherty said. “Threw it with conviction and just didn't execute it how I needed to.
Duvall’s two-run, 423-foot blast was only the second pinch-hit homer in Braves postseason history; Eric Hinske hit the first one against the Giants during National League Division Series Game 3 in 2010.
How did Snitker handle the moments between his decision and Duvall’s home run?
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“It’s tension. It’s stress,” he said, laughing. “Sometimes I sit in that dugout and I wonder, ‘Man, we choose to do this.’ It's unbelievable to me sometimes. I've said that more than once over the course of the year.”
Duvall might have had similar thoughts, but for different reasons. This time a year ago, the 31-year-old outfielder had no place on the Braves’ NLDS roster. He hadn’t taken well to a reserve role, batting just .132 after Atlanta acquired him from Cincinnati on July 30. He didn’t do enough then or this spring to earn a spot on the Braves’ Opening Day roster.
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For the first four months of this season, the 2016 All-Star toiled in Triple-A. He did everything he could to hit his way back to Atlanta, launching 32 home runs and driving in 93 runs while posting a .965 OPS in 101 games for the Braves’ Gwinnett affiliate.
On July 27, Duvall got another chance. The Braves recalled him, put him in the starting lineup and watched him bat .333 with five homers in his first 12 games, all starts. He finished strong in September, hitting .314 with a 1.026 OPS and three homers in 14 games. This time around, he secured a spot on the Braves’ postseason roster.
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On Friday night, a day after his playoff debut, he had a seat in the SunTrust Park interview room to discuss his late-inning heroics.
“I couldn't be happier for any one individual,” Snitker said. “I have so much respect for a guy like that, that does that. That's hard. When you've been up here, and you've been an established Major Leaguer, to go back to Triple-A and put the dedication and devotion and everything that he did, it says a lot about the man and character of the man. And I have nothing but the utmost respect for that guy.”
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That sentiment was shared around the Braves’ clubhouse. Outfielder Nick Markakis said he has “much respect for the man” after the year he had. Left-hander Max Fried said he “couldn’t have been happier” for his teammate.
“He works his tail off,” Fried said.
He did it all for nights like Friday, for his “boo-yeah moment.”
“Games like today, that's what you play for,” Duvall said. “It was a big win for us, and this is what you work for. This is what you dream about.”