Tonkin quite a saving grace for Braves' bullpen

NEW YORK -- The Braves have great players on their roster from Ronald Acuña Jr. to Matt Olson. It explains why they had the Major Leagues’ best record entering Sunday’s series finale against the Mets at Citi Field.

But manager Brian Snitker said his most pleasant surprise has been right-hander Michael Tonkin, who is one of Atlanta’s best relievers. Tonkin can do almost anything for the club. He can be a long reliever and pitch in high-leverage situations.

In fact, 19 of Tonkin’s 31 outings this season have been two innings or longer, the most among all Major League relievers. He also picked up his first career save on June 15 against the Rockies in an 8-3 Braves victory.

In that game, Tonkin logged 3 1/3 scoreless innings and six strikeouts.

During Spring Training, Tonkin was a long shot to make the Braves -- and for a good reason. Prior to this season, he hadn’t pitched in the big leagues since 2017 as a member of the Twins.

Since then, Tonkin bounced around in the Brewers’ and D-backs’ organizations as well as playing in Japan, independent baseball with the Long Island Ducks and the Mexican League. But this season, Tonkin is back in the bigs and flourishing out of the bullpen.

“He has come in and has done an unbelievable job for us in a lot of different roles,” Snitker said. “... You are not going into Spring Training thinking about that guy being a part [of the team]. … He has had a really strong year for us and I don’t know where we’d be without him, quite honestly.

“If a starter has a short [outing], Tonkin can come in and stretch [out] the game for you. What he has been able to do is keep the game in check and give you a chance to come back. He has pitched the sixth and seventh innings. He has a save. He has done a lot of different things for us.

“He has been big in what we have tried to accomplish.”