The Highlights
- The Braves (-174) trailed the Marlins 6-0 after five innings and 8-2 after the 7th.
- Miami took a 9-4 lead into the ninth inning.
- Atlanta found a way to win 10-9 on a two-out, two-strike walk-off single, crushing all Marlins +160 bettors.
Eight years ago to the day, Brooks Conrad hit a walk-off grand slam to complete an improbable seven-run, ninth-inning comeback to give the Braves a 10-9 victory.
If you bet the Braves today, you may have missed an eerily similar comeback — as I'm sure some of you shut the game off and ripped up your ticket long before the game had ended.
In the top half of the fourth inning, Miami pounced all over Julio Teherán for six runs — handing the fightin' fish a 6-0 lead. The Braves did claw back in the bottom of the sixth, at least somewhat, to cut the deficit to four runs (6-2). That may have brought some Braves bettors back from the grave.
However, the Marlins quickly answered right back, tacking on two in the top of the seventh, to increase their lead to 8-2. Surely, at this point, you could stick a fork in the Braves moneyline, right?
Well …
Heading into the bottom of the ninth down 9-4, the Braves stepped to bat for their "last licks." And, boy, would they put a lickin' on the Marlins bullpen — and Marlins bettors, alike.
The Braves would bat around in the home half of the ninth — scoring six combined runs off of Brad Ziegler and Tayron Guerrero to complete the comeback and send EVERYONE involved with the Braves organization home happy. It ended in dramatic fashion as Dansby Swanson — who led off the inning by striking out — hit a two-out walk-off single with the bases loaded on a 2-2 count. Redemption.
We started the bottom of the 9th down by 5 runs. We ended it like this: pic.twitter.com/tbq5lQsCSD
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 20, 2018
And this goes to show you: it ain't over 'til it's over, folks. It also goes to show you that a five-run cushion in the ninth inning can evaporate in the blink of an eye. At least when you're the Marlins.
