Braves top Orioles in 12 innings, trail only red-hot Rays for MLB’s best mark

AP photo by Erik Rank / Sam Hilliard slides into home plate on a wild pitch by Baltimore Orioles reliever Félix Bautista in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday. Hilliard's run made it 2-all, and the Braves earned a walk-off win in the 12th when Michael Harris II doubled to the wall to drive in Ozzie Albies.
AP photo by Erik Rank / Sam Hilliard slides into home plate on a wild pitch by Baltimore Orioles reliever Félix Bautista in the bottom of the 10th inning Sunday. Hilliard's run made it 2-all, and the Braves earned a walk-off win in the 12th when Michael Harris II doubled to the wall to drive in Ozzie Albies.

ATLANTA — Michael Harris II, who at the time was 0-for-3 with a walk in a game where hits were precious for both teams, couldn't wait to get into the batter's box after the Baltimore Orioles chose to intentionally walk Marcell Ozuna and pitch to him.

"I was having some good at-bats all game," the Atlanta Braves center fielder said. "So to see them walk Ozuna and want to have to face me, it kind of put a fire in my you-know-what. I got up there first pitch and tried to hit something hard, and I did."

Ozzie Albies scored from second base when Harris hit a one-out double off Cionel Pérez to the wall in left-center field in the bottom of the 12th inning Sunday afternoon, sending the Braves to a 3-2 win that halted the Orioles' streak of consecutive series wins at seven.

The Braves took two of three games in the interleague matchup with Baltimore, losing 9-4 on Friday when the Orioles exploded for a seven-run seventh inning before bouncing back for a 5-4 win Saturday night on Kevin Pillar's pinch-hit two-run homer in the eighth. Atlanta has won four series in a row since being swept in a three-game set against the visiting Houston Astros, going 10-3 over that stretch.

The Braves improved to 24-11, which trails only the Tampa Bay Rays (28-7) for the best record in Major League Baseball, while the Orioles fell to 22-12 with their first consecutive losses since dropping two in a row to the New York Yankees a month ago. Atlanta, the five-time reigning champion in the National League East, is atop the division standings with a seven-game lead over the Miami Marlins and the New York Mets. Baltimore is second in the American League East — the only division in the majors with all five teams currently above .500 —where the Rays have a 5 1/2-game lead.

Atlanta matched its best 35-game start, having also opened 24-11 in 1969, 1997 and 1998.

The big hit was a big moment for Harris, the 2022 NL rookie of the year who has already spent three weeks on the injured list this season after hurting his back and was on the bench for two straight games with a jammed knee before returning Saturday against the Orioles but going 0-for-3.

It was far from the only big play in a game that took 3 hours and 29 minutes after starting before noon due to being shown on NBC and Peacock, the network's streaming service. The 12 innings tied for the longest game in the majors this season, matching a Seattle Mariners-Cleveland Guardians matchup on April 9 and a Minnesota Twins-Chicago White Sox matchup on May 4, but later Sunday the Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs in 14 innings.

Braves right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. brought a roar from the sellout crowd of 40,800 at Truist Park in the top of the 11th when he caught Adam Frazier's 322-foot flyout and made a one-hop throw to third baseman Austin Riley, who tagged Austin Hays for a double play.

"When you're playing defense, you're doing everything you can to keep the other team from scoring runs," Acuña said via translator. "Obviously that's what happened. I'm always anticipating for the runners to go, so I just try to make the throw, make the play, and they get themselves out, I guess."

Michael Tonkin then got Ramón Urias on a swinging strikeout. Tonkin (3-1) pitched two perfect innings.

Acuña went 0-for-5, stopping a 25-game on-base streak that dated to April 9 and was the second-longest active streak in the majors, but his outfield assist was his fourth this year, second only to the Philadelphia Phillies' Nick Castellanos (five).

Atlanta scored first when Matt Olson hit a 413-foot shot to center field in the first inning for his 10th home run of the season. It was the only run allowed by Baltimore starter Tyler Wells, who gave up three hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings.

The Orioles drew even in the fourth as Austin Hays reached on an infield single, moved to third on Adam Frazier's double and scored when Urias grounded out to shortstop. They went ahead in the 10th when Anthony Santander's single to right scored Cedric Mullins, who was on second base as the automatic runner.

Atlanta made it 2-all in the bottom half when Sam Hilliard, pinch-running for Eddie Rosario as the automatic runner, moved to third on Ozuna's groundout and then scored on a wild pitch by Félix Bautista. Harris then walked and stole second base but was out at third on a fielder's choice hit by Orlando Arcia, who was left stranded when Sean Murphy struck out swinging.

The Braves left two runners on in the 11th, with Olson intentionally walked with one out.

After the Orioles went down quickly in the top of the 12th, Pérez (1-1) struck out Pillar swinging before the intentional walk to Ozuna and the double by Harris.

"Just two tough games," Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. "I thought we really fought well, played hard. We had opportunities today and let a few get away unfortunately."

Braves starter Bryce Elder gave up one run on four hits and four walks in 5 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 1.74 with his 12th straight outing with at least five innings.

"He never gave in, that's for sure," Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said. "That club is rough, man. I called them annoying the other day. Their bats are so good from top to bottom, and that bullpen is really, really good."

Baltimore setup man Yennier Cano, who didn't allow a hit until his 12th inning of the season, faced the minimum in the eighth and ninth to keep his ERA at 0.00. The hard-throwing right-hander has struck out 19 batters in 17 innings pitched this year.

"That's a great lineup and a really good club," Hyde said. "We had a chance to win last night and chances to win multiple times today, so we're obviously disappointed."

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman walked as a pinch-hitter in the sixth and has reached base 63 times this year, second in the majors to Acuña (69).

Atlanta made two moves involving shortstops ahead of the game, reinstating Arcia from the injured list after he missed 21 games with a microfracture in his left wrist. He was 1-for-4. Meanwhile, Vaughn Grissom was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he went 3-for-4 with a double and scored a run as the Stripers lost 18-11 to the Charlotte Knights.

Atlanta is off Monday before continuing a five-game homestand against AL East competition when the Boston Red Sox visit. The scheduled starting pitchers for Tuesday's game are right-handers Charlie Morton (3-3, 3.38 ERA) for the Braves and Nick Pivetta (2-2, 4.99) for the Red Sox.

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