Photo : John Bazemore ( AP ) “I t’s time to go long right now, it’s time to go deep,” Braves rookie second baseman Ozzie Albies told a teammate in the dugout before leading off the 11th inning. Yes, okay , we never hear about the times a player calls his shot and then pops out weakly to short or whatever. That still only makes instances like these marginally less cool. Advertisement Albies, obviously determined to go home after an 80-minute rain delay and extra innings , golfed a first-pitch over the wall in right-center to give the Braves the 5-4 win and snap the Reds’ seven-game winning streak. It’s Albies’s first career walk-off, but almost certainly not his last. The 21-year-old now has 17 homers, one behind Nolan Arenado and two back of Bryce Harper for the NL lead. And six of his 17 homers have come on the first pitch. Entering Monday’s game, Albies was swinging on the first pitch 45.6 percent of the time, fourth in baseball. “He hasn’t seen a pitch yet that he doesn’t like, but he’s on the attack,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s an aggressive hitter, that’s what makes him what he is. He’s having a heck of a year.” He is indeed. The big little Curacao native (5-foot-7 and all muscle) is leading the league in extra-base hits and has only extended his voting lead to start at second in the All-Star Game. A red-hot start led to a relative hitting slump in May and June, but he appears to be fully back—hitting .455 in his last seven games. Albies is a big part of the Braves’ resurgence. With their win and a Phillies loss on Monday, Atlanta’s lead in the NL East is 3.5 games.<doc-sep>» More: Albies called his game-winning homer The Braves won for just the second time in nine extra-inning games and snapped Cincinnati’s seven-game winning streak. The Reds were coming off a four-game sweep of the Cubs. It was the the seventh walk-off win for the Braves and 10th win in their final at-bat. Mike Foltynewicz allowed only one run in five innings in his return from the disabled list and left with a 3-1 lead, but saw it evaporate when reliever Lucas Sims failed to retire any of the first four batters he faced in a two-run sixth. The game was delayed by rain for 80 minutes before the first pitch and didn’t end until 12:40 a.m. After the Reds scored three runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 4-3 lead, the Braves tied it with an unearned run in the seventh following a two-base fielding error by former Gold Glove first baseman Joey Votto. Freddie Freeman’s sharp grounder skipped over Votto’s glove into right field and Freeman hustled to second on the play, then scored on Danny Santana’s two-out double. Pitching on 12 days of rest after coming off the DL earlier Monday, Foltynewicz issued four walks but allowed just one hit and one run, that on Scott Schebler’s 426-foot fifth-inning homer that cut the Braves’ lead to 3-1. Foltynewicz threw 54 strikes in 91 pitches and whittled his ERA from 2.16 to 2.14. The lead went up in flames after Sims gave up three straight singles and a bases-loaded walk to start a two-run sixth inning. The Reds moved ahead an inning later when Schebler doubled, advanced on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Votto’s ground-out for a 4-3 lead. The Braves provided Foltynewicz an early lead in his first action in nearly two weeks, scoring two runs in the first inning. Ender Inciarte drew a leadoff walk and scored on a double by Albies, who scored two batters later on Kurt Suzuki’s sacrifice fly. Foltynewicz came off the DL without making a rehab start and pitched for the first time since June 12, when he left a game against the Mets after five scoreless innings due to tightness in the triceps muscle in the back of his pitching arm. He threw hard Monday, his fastball topping out at 99 mph in the first inning. But the strike zone was tight and he was off his mark a bit in the early going, issuing four walks in the first three innings and throwing 65 pitches in that span despite allowing no hits. He walked two in the third inning before striking out National League batting leader Scooter Gennett to end the inning and preserve a 2-0 lead. Then after working a perfect fourth in 12 pitches including two strikeouts, Foltynewicz gave up a two-out, first-pitch homer to Schebler in the fifth to trim the lead to 2-1. The Braves got that run back in the bottom of the inning when Ender Inciarte led off with a single, advanced on another Albies double and scored on Nick Markakis’ double-play grounder with the bases loaded to return the lead to two runs, 3-1. Sims, recalled from Triple-A on Saturday for his fourth stint with the Braves this season, gave up three hits to start the sixth inning, followed by a Jesse Winker walk that brought in a run. One out later, Adam Duvall grounded out to bring in the tying run. Markakis had a two-out single in the third inning for his 100th hit in the Braves’ 77th game, the first NL player to reach triple-digit hits and the fastest Markakis has collected 100 hits in his 13-year career. He added a two-out single in the ninth inning.<doc-sep>The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game Scott Schebler honked a mighty dinger, doubled, walked, scored twice, and has generally taken quite nicely to the leadoff spot in the Cincinnati Reds batting order - if that’s where he’s going to sit for the near future. That was enough to earn a trophy on Monday night, even if it took until the early hours of Tuesday morning to make things official. Honorable Mentions are due to: Joey Votto, who walked thrice, singled, scored, and drove in a run; and Kyle Crockett, who bailed the Cincinnati Reds out of a jam in the 6th inning and looked just as solid in the 7th for a full 3-outs of scoreless work. Key Plays After a nearly 90 minute rain delay, this one began with the Atlanta Braves jumping on Tyler Mahle immediately in the Bottom of the 1st. Well, not immediately, of course, since the Reds made a trio of outs first, but you know what I’m saying. Ender Inciarte walked on four pitches, and he scored on the RBI double down the right-field line by Ozzie Albies . Schebler opted to throw home on the play despite not really having a chance at the runner, and that bit the Reds when Albies deftly took 3B on the play. He later scored on a sac-fly to CF, and the Reds trailed, 2-0. immediately in the Bottom of the 1st. Well, not immediately, of course, since the Reds made a trio of outs first, but you know what I’m saying. walked on four pitches, and he scored on the RBI double down the right-field line by . opted to throw home on the play despite not really having a chance at the runner, and that bit the Reds when Albies deftly took 3B on the play. He later scored on a sac-fly to CF, and the Reds trailed, 2-0. Mike Foltynewicz had kept the Reds hitless into the Top of the 5th despite throwing a billion pitches and walking half that many, Schebler got Cincinnati on the board with a massive solo dinger that cleared the RF seats, and the Reds trailed, 2-1. had kept the Reds hitless into the Top of the 5th despite throwing a billion pitches and walking half that many, Schebler got Cincinnati on the board with a massive solo dinger that cleared the RF seats, and the Reds trailed, 2-1. Mahle ran into a bit of a jam in the Bottom of the 5th, however, loading the bases with none out after a walk to Freddie Freeman that brought NL hits and doubles leader Nick Markakis to the plate. Mahle, though, got a 4-6-3 double play from Markakis , and while a run scored, it helped him escape what could’ve been a much bigger jam. Reds trailed, 3-1. that brought NL hits and doubles leader to the plate. Mahle, though, got a 4-6-3 double play from , and while a run scored, it helped him escape what could’ve been a much bigger jam. Reds trailed, 3-1. A trio of singles off reliever Lucas Sims in the Top of the 6th set the table for an RBI-walk from Jesse Winker , and Adam Duvall later helped get another run across the plate when the Barves failed to turn a double play. That tied the score, 3-3. in the Top of the 6th set the table for an RBI-walk from , and later helped get another run across the plate when the Barves failed to turn a double play. That tied the score, 3-3. Cincinnati took the lead in the Top of the 7th, thanks largely to Schebler’s leadoff double. Tucker Barnhart bunted him over to 3B all sacrifice-y like, and Votto then brought him in with a hard-hit grounder back up the middle that hit off reliever Sam Freeman to allow the run to score. Reds led, 4-3. bunted him over to 3B all sacrifice-y like, and Votto then brought him in with a hard-hit grounder back up the middle that hit off reliever to allow the run to score. Reds led, 4-3. A Votto error on a grounder hit right at him by Freddie Freeman loomed large in the Bottom of the 7th, however, as a later walk by David Hernandez and a 2-out Danny Santana double into RF brought Freeman in to score, and the game was again tied, 4-4. loomed large in the Bottom of the 7th, however, as a later walk by and a 2-out double into RF brought in to score, and the game was again tied, 4-4. About eleven hours later, it was Ozzie Albies again who put the fork in the Reds, homering off Dylan Floro to open the Bottom of the 11th inning, which ended the game. Reds lost, 5-4. Tony Graphanino Other Notes<doc-sep>
“It felt amazing,” Albies said. “One of the most excited times you can feel, when you do that for the team.” It was the fifth walk-off homer of the season for the Braves but the first for Albies. The 21-year-old Curacao native is only 5-foot-7 and about 165 pounds, but leads the National League with 44 extra-base hits and leads the Braves with 17 home runs, tied for third in the NL behind Washington’s Bryce Harper (19) and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado (18). Six of Albies’ 17 homers have come on the first pitch. “He’s aggressive -- there’s no doubt he’s aggressive,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He hasn’t seen a pitch yet he doesn’t like. He’s on the attack. He’s an aggressive hitter. That’s what makes him what he is. He’s having a heck of a year.” As soon as the ball cleared the wall, Braves poured onto the field to celebrate with Albies, waiting at home plate to jump on him. “I was just smiling,” Albies said, “knowing they were going to hit me with dirt, powder, whatever they’ve got. It’s fun.” Albies also is tied with teammate Nick Markakis for the NL doubles lead with 25. “I don’t know, he just never ceases to amaze me,” Snitker said of Albies. “Some of the plays he made defensively, just the range, the accuracy in his arm. That last inning, that play was really good. And he’s started swinging the bat. He’s making adjustments and he’s been a real stellar guy.” The wild home-plate celebration has become a walk-off ritual around baseball, and one that’s been enjoyed more frequently by the Braves this season than by most teams. The Braves and Cardinals are tied for the major league leads in walk-off wins (seven) and game-ending home runs (five). Albies, the Braves’ and arguably the NL’s hottest hitter for much of April, has rebounded from a recent slump and is surging again in the 2-hole in the lineup along with a revived Ender Inciarte in the leadoff spot. “It’s been great,” Albies said. “Hopefully we keep doing that for the team and be on base so the big boys can drive us in.” Albies is 15-for-33 (.455) with six extra-base hits and a 1.168 OPS in his past seven games, after hitting .172 (17-for-99) with seven extra-base hits and a .502 OPS in 23 games from May 23 through June 16. “I’m just thinking short and quick, and just try to hit the ball back to the pitcher,” he said of recent adjustments in his hitting approach. “I’m trying to just hit the ball where it’s pitched. If it’s a ball I know I can hit, try to put the quick swing on it.”