The bullpen of this 2021 Atlanta Braves squad, like many a bullpen before it, has been much-maligned. To be fair, it hasn’t been a particularly good bullpen, and its 18th-ranked fWAR is probably little consolation to the results-oriented who have experienced both a WPA and RA9-WAR ranked in the bottom 10. In any case, though, the bullpen came up big in this game, as the Braves kicked off their homestand with a 5-3 win over the Nationals thanks to its four lockdown, near-perfect innings.
The way this game started, you may have never guessed that the Braves would’ve actually needed that shutdown relief work.