Youth reigns in Game 2: Just ask Albies, Riley
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MILWAUKEE -- Ozzie Albies dropped to the dirt at second base and ripped off a few impromptu pushups.
Because, well, he has no plans to miss next time.
Albies doubled off the top of the right-field wall in the third inning of Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Milwaukee in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at American Family Field. It scored a run, but it was so close to being a two-run homer that the Braves asked the umpires to review it. The review confirmed what everybody suspected: Albies didn’t muscle the ball out like he had hoped.
It is during that delay that Albies worked on his pecs and triceps.
“Workout's tomorrow,” Braves third baseman Austin Riley joked.
“Tomorrow's an off-day,” Albies said. “I might work out from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. That ball has to go out.”
Riley crushed a 428-foot solo home run to center field in the sixth as the Braves evened the best-of-five series, which will continue with Game 3 on Monday afternoon at Truist Park.
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Albies and Riley continue to do damage behind Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, who singled to score the game’s first run and scored on Albies’ double/almost homer. The two 24-year-olds are just the fifth set of teammates in AL/NL history at 24 or younger to simultaneously construct 30-homer, 100-RBI seasons. The others are Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder (2008 Brewers), Mark Teixeira and Hank Blalock ('04 Rangers), Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco (1987 A’s) and Don Hurst and Chuck Klein ('29 Phillies).
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Albies hit a 0-1 changeup from Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff, only 1.04 feet above the dirt, according to Statcast. Riley ripped a 0-1 changeup down and away.
“Some of the pitches, they hit good pitches,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “The changeup to Albies was below the zone. Changeup to Riley was down and away. Got it in a pretty good spot.”
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But good hitters hit good pitches. Still, sometimes it surprises even them.
“He threw me back-to-back changeups,” Albies said. “He threw one that was in the strike zone, and I fouled it off. I said, 'He's probably going back with offspeed right here.' I was kind of sitting offspeed. I know it was a ball, but I'm a small guy. I hit low balls a lot. So I put a good swing on it and good things happened.”