Sean Murphy homers twice, Braves get their first late-innings comeback and first road win

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TAMPA, Fla. — It was just one game, but it felt like something more for an Atlanta Braves team that’s scuffled severely in the early season.

A couple of innings and a few home runs can have a galvanizing effect on a team, or at least rejuvenate the clubhouse vibe. It did Saturday when the Braves overcame a 3-1 deficit after seven innings to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-4, a comeback fueled by two-out solo homers from Ozzie Albies and Sean Murphy in the eighth inning and Michael Harris II’s two-run homer in the ninth.

The Braves (4-10) had not won a game this season when trailing after seven innings, and had not won a game on the road, period. They ended both of those ignominious feats Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field, a minor-league park with hitter-friendly dimensions.

“A day like this can change everything, you know?” Albies said. “Bring more positivity and more positive energy for us to come back tomorrow and go for another win.”

It was the second homer of the day for Murphy, whose leadoff homer in the seventh inning cut the Rays’ lead to 2-1. The veteran catcher has three homers in four games after starting the season on the injured list for a fractured rib.

Murphy hit a three-run homer Tuesday off Philadelphia Phillies ace Zack Wheeler in his first plate appearance after being activated from the IL. Now, this.

“It was good to see Murph kind of looking like his old self again,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, who also made a point to commend Harris for his decisive homer after Nick Allen’s leadoff double in the ninth, the only hit for Atlanta in 11 at-bats with runners in scoring position.

Murph 👀#BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/aiJ8VKHaYs

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) April 12, 2025

RISP and other situational hitting have plagued the Braves throughout the season’s first 2 1/2 weeks.

“That’s a good piece of hitting by Michael, trying to get something he could turn on to move the runner,” Snitker said of the pulled shot that sneaked over the right-field fence. “A lot of times when you play the game the way it’s supposed to be played, you get rewarded for it.”

Murphy said, “We still need to hit with runners in scoring position. Solo homers are great, but it’s tough to win a game on just solo homers.”

Murphy and Harris also made big contributions on defense. Murphy threw out José Caballero trying to steal second base in the second inning and helped assure rookie pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver in some tight spots. Harris made a spectacular catch in front of the center field wall for the third out of the first inning, preventing a second run from scoring in the inning.

Harris said of having Murphy back, “It’s been huge, ’cause he swings the bat, catches the ball, he can throw runners out. He does everything you need him to do, and his presence just stands out.”

A loss would’ve given Atlanta its worst start since the 1990 team lost 12 of its first 14 games.

“That felt good,” Harris said. “Pitchers kept us in the game and gave us opportunity to even do that. I’m glad the bats came around.”

The Rays led 2-0 with a chance to blow things open in the sixth inning after loading the bases with none out against Braves newcomer Rafael Montero on two walks and a single. But Montero got out of the jam unscathed by striking out Caballero, fielding a bunt and tossing to Murphy for a force, and inducing an inning-ending groundout.

“Yeah, that just took everybody,” Murphy said of the win. “Look at Montero. Big sixth inning. He loads the bases and then gets out of it. You know, that probably wins us the game there. We had to work out of some stuff today, and it took efforts from the defense, the pitching and the offense.”

It was the Braves’ first road win in nine games, tied with the 1980 team’s 0-8 for the franchise’s longest season-opening road skid in baseball’s modern era since 1900.

“Comeback wins are the best,” said Albies, who jump-started the rally with his two-out homer in the eighth off Hunter Bigge, who also gave up Murphy’s second homer of the day one batter later. “You’re down and you keep battling, you don’t give up and come back and win the game — it’s everything.”

The mental side of baseball is a crucial and often perplexing component for young pitchers to master, and the Braves don’t pretend to know exactly what has caused Smith-Shawver to struggle so much in certain situations and impress to such a degree in others.

Two-out situations have been the major issue this season for Smith-Shawver, a pitcher the Braves need to play a significant role.

When Junior Caminero homered off him with two out in the first inning, on an 0-1 hanging slider, it made opponents a staggering 8-for-16 with two doubles, two homers and six walks against Smith-Shawver in two-out situations this season.

“Everybody’s aware of everything that goes on,” Snitker said before the game, referring to opponents knowing how Smith-Shawver has struggled in those spots. “That’s part the mental process, and the growth that the guys have to overcome.”

It could’ve been worse in that first inning. The two-out homer was followed by a Jonathan Aranda single and a fly ball smashed off the bat of Christopher Morel that Harris hauled in with a leaping, twisting catch in front of the center-field wall.

“Holy cow, I have no idea how he did that,” Snitker said.

Harris described the play, the latest in a series of thrilling catches made by the Atlanta native in his relatively brief career.

“I knew it was hit hard, that I was going to have to get back to the wall,” he said. “It crossed through the sun, so I lost it for a second, and then when I found it again, the wind had pushed it back the other way, so I had to adjust really quick. But good thing I practiced those in MVP (baseball video game), so I was able to do it pretty naturally.”

Asked whether the gold cleats he wore Saturday were a reminder of the Gold Glove he hopes to win, Harris smiled and said, “Yeaaaah,” with an exaggerated tone. “I mean, whatever I need to do to get it. I’m just really just trying to go out there and make plays for our pitcher. But I mean, if those kind of put the thought in the voters’ minds, then I guess I’ll keep doing it.”

Smith-Shawver starts usually feature a moment or two when his undeniable talent is fully displayed, and Saturday was no exception. The hard-throwing Texan’s typical highs and lows were condensed into a four-batter span in the third inning, when he walked Caminero to load the bases and walked Aranda to bring in a run for a 2-0 Rays lead, but then struck out Morel looking at a nasty curveball and struck out Kameron Misner swinging at a splitter to leave the bases loaded.

That began a stretch in which Smith-Shawver retired seven of the last eight batters he faced, five on strikeouts. His final line was solid: 5 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts.

“You could see it right there, he didn’t give up at all,” Albies said of Smith-Shawver. “He kept pushing for himself, he kept making pitches and came back and got those two guys out.”

Snitker said, “It’s just going to be a learning experience and growth. He’s been a pro for what, four years, and going into his fifth year? Still hasn’t amassed a ton of innings, so he’s still learning. But it’s good when he can get in trouble like that and fight his way through it. I mean, that says something about his character and makeup and all that, which is really good.”

(Photo: Julio Aguilar / Getty Images)

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