'Game over': Albies caps wild sweep with 10th-inning walk-off homer

ATLANTA -- Instead of trying to find the appropriate adjectives to describe the wild 13-10 comeback win the Braves claimed over the Mets on Thursday night at Truist Park, it seems better to just let Ozzie Albies express what he was feeling after hitting a three-run homer with two outs in the 10th.

“The ball hit the bat and I didn’t feel anything,” Albies said. “That’s how solid it was hit, and it was the best feeling. As soon as it took off, I was like, ‘OK, that’s it. Done. Game over.’ I don’t pimp them much, but that one, I had to stare.”

Despite Spencer Strider allowing a career-high eight runs over just four innings, the Braves extended their winning streak to five games with a fourth straight comeback win. This stretch of rallies began with Eddie Rosario’s two-out, ninth-inning grand slam on Sunday in Arizona. It then extended throughout this three-game sweep of the Mets, who squandered a three-run lead in each of the three games.

How rare is that? Well, it’s the first time Atlanta won three straight games when trailing by at least three runs during the modern era, per The Elias Sports Bureau. The club entered this series at 2-16 in such games this year. But with these three comeback wins, the Braves have now won nine of the past 10 home games played against the Mets.

“That’s a pretty cool series,” catcher Travis d'Arnaud said. “Three comebacks in a row is something I haven’t experienced in a while. The energy and confidence it brought in this clubhouse was pretty special. It was really fun after the game.”

d’Arnaud and the other players received a postgame visit from Chipper Jones, the team’s hitting consultant and occasional broadcaster. Jones returned to the booth to call Thursday’s game with Jeff Francoeur and fellow Hall of Famers Tom Glavine and John Smoltz. It’s safe to say the former Mets killer enjoyed this night.

Even Strider could flash a smile after this one. The Braves’ great young pitcher experienced what may have been the most frustrating start of his young career. He squandered the three-run first inning lead built against Justin Verlander and ended up allowing eight runs and eight hits over just four innings.

Albies, d’Arnaud and Orlando Arcia drilled the big home runs over the final three innings. But their contributions wouldn’t have mattered had Michael Tonkin, Joe Jiménez, Jesse Chavez and Raisel Iglesias not combined to allow just two runs over the final six innings. Chavez escaped a bases-loaded threat in the ninth and Jiménez tallied three strikeouts over two scoreless innings.

“That was incredible,” Arcia said through an interpreter. “From the first pitch to the last out, we’re going to continue to fight and battle. That’s the team we are.”

Austin Riley began his four-hit performance with a two-run homer in the first against Verlander, and he capped it with an eighth-inning single that positioned him to jog home on d’Arnaud’s two-run homer off Drew Smith. This pulled the Braves within one run and seemingly created reason to anticipate where this would lead.

“This game is about the ebbs and flows and building momentum,” Riley said. “When he hits that homer, it just starts building more.”

After Chavez escaped a bases-loaded threat with consecutive strikeouts in the top of the ninth, Arcia capped his own three-hit game with his game-tying solo homer off David Robertson, who was unsuccessful with his bid for a five-out save. This was the second time the Braves shortstop has hit a game-tying or go-ahead homer in the ninth this year. His ninth-inning homer provided a win over the Rangers on May 17.

“I’ve said it before, I’m glad I don’t have to face our offense because it’s not fun,” Strider said.

Albies added to the fun when he stepped to the plate with two outs in the 10th and drilled Tommy Hunter’s 1-0 cutter into the Chop House, located beyond the right-field wall. His three-run shot was the third walk-off homer of his career.

“If you would have seen me, I enjoyed it more than he did,” the always vibrant Arcia said.

Told of Arcia’s comment, Albies said: “He gets crazy. He’s the most hyper guy in the dugout.”

But it’s safe to say Arcia was far from the only hyper member of a Braves team that recognized this comeback may have been even more enjoyable than the many they have enjoyed over the past couple years, or past five days.

“I think this [comeback] was the greatest and wildest one,” Albies said. “After all those runs, we came back. We never give up. It’s great that we do that every night.”