Drake Baldwin just ripped a walk-off double in the eleventh inning to lift the Braves to a wild 6-5 win over the Phillies at Truist Park. What a marathon! This opener of the final series against their division rivals felt like a few different lifetimes, honestly, with the Braves having to scratch and claw for runs in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings just to stay alive.
Sale’s Blip and Olson’s Blast
You kidding me with this game? After a 45-minute weather delay, things finally got going, and Chris Sale absolutely picked up where he left off, making the top of the Phillies order go down easy with a flyout and two nasty strikeouts. And then, get this, Matt Olson busted out of a two-week homerless slide with a slice the other way that just managed to stay fair, giving him his 38th longball of the year. A homer from a recently homer-shy offense? That felt like an auspicious sign, right? We thought things were looking up.
But then came the eighth inning blip. After two quick outs, Sale gives up a single to Edmundo Sosa, walks Bryan De La Cruz of all people, and then plunks J.T. Realmuto to load the bases. Talk about a gut punch waiting to happen! And sure enough, Derek Hill couldn’t get a hold of Sale’s 1-1 four-seamer, but he hammered the next pitch, barreling it for a bases-clearing double that completely flipped the script. Yeah, Derek Hill. That guy. Sale recovered like an absolute ace though, striking out Kyle Schwarber and then basically returning to pure domination, giving up just one over the minimum for the rest of his seven innings of work, finishing with a strong 6/2 K/BB ratio. That’s a strong outing for the ace, even with that hiccup.
The Hill Phenomenon and the Walk-Off Rope
Seriously, though, the Derek Hill 2026 phenomenon is something else. This dude is massively outhitting a terrible xwOBA, piling up an insane amount of WPA despite not being consistent in high-leverage spots. And don’t even get me started on the White Sox trading him and some international bonus pool money to the Phillies for essentially nothing, especially after Hill played a key role in starting that whole Braves June swoon thing. If it wasn’t for Derek Hill, this series probably wouldn’t even have this much drama! His double absolutely turned the game on its head. It’s even possible, if they were playing Hill to pull, that Michael Harris II might’ve flagged it down, but that’s not where they had him.
Still, the Braves kept fighting. They couldn’t do much against Aaron Nola either, who retired the first two Braves he faced and later struck out Sean Murphy on three pitches. Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled and Olson walked in the third, but nothing came of it. But when it counted, they found ways. Ha-Seong Kim had another huuuuge hit, and those run-scoring scrambles in the ninth, tenth, and eleventh innings were pure grit, showing exactly why this team is so tough. Then, in the eleventh, it all came down to Drake Baldwin. Boom! Walk-off rope, 6-5 Braves win. Unreal finish to an unbelievable game.
What a start to this final series against their division rivals. Seriously, this felt like living a few different lifetimes, and you gotta watch the highlights for this one. If the opener was any indication, you know this rivalry is going to deliver fireworks all the way through. Get ready for more, because this team just doesn’t quit.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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