Albies 'good to go' after leadoff HR in return

DENVER -- In Ozzie Albies' return to the Braves’ lineup after missing two games with a bruised knee, the second baseman was at the plate at a key juncture in Friday night’s game against the Rockies at Coors Field.

Albies, who had homered in his first plate appearance, had a chance to drive in the tying run with Eddie Rosario on second in the eighth inning. Rosario then broke for third in a steal attempt and was thrown out by Rockies catcher Dom Nuñez. Albies popped out to second base, and a promising inning came to naught for the Braves in a 4-3 loss that leveled the four-game series at 1-1.

The Rosario play was very close at third base. Atlanta challenged, but the out call was ruled as stands, just as it had in the sixth, when Austin Riley delivered a game-tying single but was called out at second base on a close play trying to stretch it to a double.

“I thought they were both safe -- Austin, too,” manager Brian Snitker said. “But my vote doesn’t count.”

Rosario said that he made the risky decision because he thought an offspeed pitch was coming and he could get a good jump. He was right -- Rockies reliever Jhoulys Chacin threw an 82 mph curveball, but Nuñez made a good throw and third baseman Ryan McMahon reached back for a between-the-legs tag.

“I noticed that [Chacin’s] delivery on those offspeed pitches towards home was a little slower,” Rosario said through an interpreter. “... After watching the replay, I saw it was a great play from the catcher and the third baseman … But in my mind, I just kind of read the situation, and I wanted to give Ozzie a good opportunity there to drive in a run with one out.”

Atlanta (71-63) had a chance to gain a game on the second-place Phillies (69-65) in the National League East, with Philadelphia losing to the Marlins in Miami. But the Phillies’ loss also meant the Braves maintained their two-game division lead. Beyond the questionable baserunning, the takeaway from this game was that Albies seemed to be able to move around just fine.

Albies’ swing certainly wasn’t rusty. The homer he launched to lead off the game was a Statcast-projected 428-foot shot to dead-center field and into the pine trees beyond the wall. It was Albies’ 24th homer of the season, and he nearly hit his 25th when he flied out to the left-field wall in the third.

Given how severe the Braves feared the injury might be when Albies fouled a pitch off his left knee at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, his performance was a welcome sight.

“He had a great workout yesterday, and it was just smart of us I think to not play him yesterday after that workout, give him the added time,” Snitker said. “And then he had the full workout today with batting practice and everything. I think we dodged a huge bullet right there, and he’s good to go now.”

Right-hander Huascar Ynoa went 5 2/3 innings in his first career start at Coors Field, giving up four runs on five hits, while walking one and striking out five. He surrendered a Charlie Blackmon solo homer in the first inning and then had a difficult third in which he gave up a leadoff double to Nuñez, and one out later, walked Connor Joe. That was followed by a Brendan Rodgers RBI single and a Blackmon sacrifice fly to put Colorado up, 3-2.

But Ynoa then settled in, getting a quick 1-2-3 fourth inning and striking out the side in the fifth. His evening came to an end when, with two outs in the sixth, Trevor Story doubled and scored on C.J. Cron’s single for the Rockies’ fourth run.

“I’m very impressed with this game here because he kind of got out of whack for one inning, but he righted himself and he kind of smoothed things out, and he was really good,” Snitker said of Ynoa’s performance. “I think he’s going to continue to get better and better. I love this kid.”

For the second straight game, the Braves’ bullpen held Colorado scoreless in the late innings to give Atlanta’s lineup a chance. A.J. Minter and Tyler Matzek combined for 2 1/3 innings of relief, yielding just one hit and striking out five.

But beyond Albies’ first-inning homer, a Rosario sacrifice fly and the Riley RBI single comprised the offensive output for the Braves. When a team can only muster three runs at Coors Field, every play counts, especially on the bases.

“I’ll be honest with you,” Snitker said, “[Rosario] thought he had a good jump or whatever, but it’s just hard to make outs on the bases in this ballpark. We’ve got the top of our order up, and we were probably pushing the envelope a little too much.”