I regret to inform you that the Braves are not going to finish the regular season on a 32 – 0 run. George Kirby and the Mariners bullpen shut down the Braves and ended their 8-game winning streak, dropping them 1/2 game behind the first place Mets. Mets vs. Marlins – Box Score – September 10, 2022 – ESPN

Two solo home runs off Max Fried were all the Mariners needed. Sam Haggerty homered on the first pitch of the bottom of the 5th inning, and Eugenio Suarez added a solo home run with two out in the 6th. Fried went 6 innings, allowing 5 hits and 0 walks, while striking out 6.

The Braves scratched out their run in the 7th. Dansby Swanson led off with a single, then a potential double play ball off the bat of Austin Riley ate up J.P. Crawford for an error. Dansby advanced to 3rd on the play, where he scored on a Matt Olson groundout.

The Crawford error signaled the end of the night for Mariners starter George Kirby, who went 6+ innings allowing 3 hits, 0 walks, and the unearned run, while striking out 6. The Mariners bullpen was perfect over the final 3 innings. Dansby had 2 hits; Vaughn Grissom got the other one.

Jesse Chavez was the non-Atlanta version of Jesse Chavez, allowing a two out walk and an RBI double to extend the lead to 3 – 1 in the 7th. Everybody has to be allowed to give up a run every now and again.

I feel like we have not given enough attention to the fact that the Nationals are 39 games out of first place, and I feel like this is a good time to mention it.

Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, who went 0 – 4, attended Smoky Mountain High School in Sylva, NC. Smoky Mountain’s baseball field was my favorite to visit, back in another decade when I was doing such things. You can sit high on a bank on the 3rd base line and look down at your children playing the game. Your eyes will eventually wander to the highway beyond the right field fence where the traffic is oblivious to your little goings-on. And beyond the highway, a graveyard stretching up a hill. Finally, your eyes settle on a church at the top. Dang ol’ circle of life man, I tell you what.

The Braves will attempt to take the series on Sunday at 4:10 Eastern, Jake Odorizzi and Marco Gonzales scheduled.