Tyler Mahle looked like the answer Atlanta wanted on Friday, until the game slipped away in the final innings. In his Braves debut against the New York Yankees, he struck out nine over six scoreless innings, but the Braves still lost 3-2 on a walk-off in the 10th.
Mahle was acquired from the San Francisco Giants on Sunday after posting a 5.13 ERA there this season, and his first start for Atlanta showed why the move mattered. He filled the zone, missed bats and handed over a 2-0 lead with the kind of performance that can steady a rotation in a playoff race.
The cushion did not hold. Austin Riley added an eighth-inning solo home run, and Matt Olson followed with a homer in the top of the ninth, but Raisel Iglesias blew the save in the bottom half. George Lombard Jr. reached third on an infield single after Iglesias made a throwing error, and that opening set up the finish.
Ryan McMahon then delivered a bases-loaded sacrifice fly against Tyler Kinley in the 10th inning, ending Atlanta’s eight-game winning streak and turning a dominant debut into a loss. Since July 3, Iglesias has a 6.75 ERA over 14 appearances, and all three of his blown saves have come in that span, a stretch that now sits beside an Atlanta staff that has allowed no more than three runs in 16 straight games and has combined for a 2.02 ERA over that run.
The Braves still held an 8 1/2-game lead in the National League East after Philadelphia also lost Friday, so the standings did not change nearly as much as the mood did. What changes next is whether Mahle stays in the rotation after this start and whether Atlanta can keep a game like this from becoming the sort of loss that lingers.
