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“For the Atlanta Braves, this was more than just a win. It was a small but significant step out of the shadows of frustration and futility that have hung over this franchise for more than a decade.
On a damp October afternoon at Truist Park, with the rain falling lightly and the ghosts of postseasons past hovering nearby, the Braves finally — after thirteen long years — won a playoff game. Their 4–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs ties this Wild Card Series at one game apiece, and perhaps, just perhaps, hints at a turning point.
Center fielder Bobby Nunez was the catalyst — three hits, two runs batted in, and the kind of spark that good teams so often need in October. But the signature moment came in the bottom of the seventh. Miguel Carranza, a steady presence behind the plate all season, turned on a fastball and sent it soaring into the left-field seats. As the ball disappeared into the Georgia night, so too seemed to vanish a little bit of the weight that’s pressed upon this franchise since their last postseason triumph — all the way back in 1912.
After the game, manager Kevin Tanksley called it a ‘businesslike approach.’ But for the nearly 40,000 fans in attendance, this was anything but business as usual. This was catharsis — thirteen years of waiting, of near misses, of faded hopes — all released in one triumphant roar.
The Braves now stand one win away from advancing, and while history tells them to be cautious, nights like this remind them — and us — why October baseball still matters.
From Truist Park in Atlanta, on a night when the past finally gave way to the present, the Braves 4, the Cubs 2 — and for the first time in thirteen years, there’s reason to believe again.”
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