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Home run by Harris II helps Braves defeat Brewers 4-2 at MLB Little League Classic

By Jon Gerardi 7 min read

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Raisel Iglesias looked at second base and put both his arms in the air as he looked upwards to the night sky under the lights at Bowman Field. With one out, the Milwaukee Brewers had runners at the corners and were optimistic for a late rally to win a thriller.

It was a thrilling game, but it wasn't the Brewers who won

A ground out to first by Jake Bauers, the Brewers' No. 4 hitter, was hit right at Iglesias and turned into a perfect double play to end the game and give the Atlanta Braves the victory at Bowman Field for the ninth-annual MLB Little League Classic contest.

The Milwaukee Brewers (82-49) scored a run in the bottom of the eighth inning and cut the Atlanta Braves' (75-56) lead down to just one run. But on the third pitch he saw in the top of the ninth, Atlanta's Michael Harris II crushed a 380-foot home run over the right-field fence and put Atlanta back ahead by two runs.

"I talked about him a lot this year. Just seeing him mature as a player and figuring some things out. He’s a hitter, he’s still going to chase some, but he hits the ball so hard and he’s doing that more often," Atlanta Braves manager Walt Weiss said. "He's a young kid, he's only 25-years-old I believe, and figuring things out and coming a better player and doing it before our eyes."

Before every at-bat when Harris II was in the batting circle, numerous Little League World Series players in the stands near the field were asking him to hit a home run. Through four at-bats, he didn't connect for one.

On his fifth and final appearance at the plate, he delivered using his Black Panther-themed bat.

"They said it before every at-bat and I let them down," Harris II said with a smile. "Eventually I had to do it and I'm glad it happened at that time."

Harris II was showing off his collection of baseball bats prior to the game and considered his Black Panther bat his lucky one. It also happened to be the final one he went to the plate with.

"That was the last one in the rotation. I had five bats and that was my fifth at-bat, so that was the only one that had hope in it," Harris II said.

While the Brewers didn't score in the bottom of the ninth, Harris II's homer gave Atlanta some breathing room and helped shift away momentum from the Braves.

Harris II is also now the first Atlanta Braves player to hit a home run at the MLB Little League Classic event at Bowman Field.

"I don’t know. It’s cool. It’s always cool to be first to do something...well not always, but it’s cool to be first Brave to do it," Harris II said with a laugh.

In the bottom of the ninth, Jackson Chourio led off with a single, but a double-play ended any rally attempt.

Weiss was happy with what he saw pitching-wise from Tyler Mahle, a right-handed pitcher who got the start, in the victory on Sunday night.

"He did great, he’s been a great pickup for us at the deadline," Weiss said. "His velocity was good tonight, and the fast ball plays up on top of the velocity. He commands them all and executes pitches.

"He was great. He’s been a shot in the arm for us," Weiss added. "He’s a strike thrower; he knows how to pitch and has a really good feel. Sequences for navigating the lineups, did a really nice job. He was a good get."

Mahle ended the night throwing five innings to begin the game and picked up his fifth win of the year. He struck out four of the game's six batters, walked just two, and allowed just one run, earned. 

"He means a lot. He's a competitor, goes out there and he gives us the best he can every time he’s out there, and tonight we see it," Atlanta's Ozzie Albies said of Mahle. "He was aggressive, I love way he attacked the zone and it’s special to have guy like that on team. He's fitting right in with us and getting more comfortable, so it’s great."

Milwaukee had a chance to plate a run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Brewers saw Andrew Vaughn reach on a shallow single into the outfield. That was followed with a throwing error by Atlanta which let him reach second and Christian Yelich reach first. But a 4-6-3 double play on the next batter put Vaughn at third with two outs.

A batter later, the threat was over as he was stranded at third on a grounder to second and the Brewers still trailed Atlanta by two.

"They’re a tough team to put away and you gotta defend and we did tonight. You have to play well. If you give that team extra outs -- we saw other night in Milwaukee -- it's gonna cost you," Weiss said. "They kept the line moving and pitched well. We left a few runs on the table, could have scored a few more, but Didier Fuentes was outstanding, gave us two innings and big part of the game. It was a good win."

A costly error allowed Atlanta to take a 3-1 lead in the top of the sixth inning. With two outs, a shot to first base was fumbled by Andrew Vaughn, allowing Michael Harris II to reach. The error let Mauricio Dubon score after he was walked with one out and drove to third on a single by Austin Riley. It gave Atlanta a 3-1 lead.

Atlanta was able to break up a tie in the top of the fourth inning. Drake Baldwin connected on a deep double near the warning track to right-center which was followed with a single by Lane Thomas. After back-to-back outs on a pop-up and a strikeout, Sean Murphy had an RBI-single to bring in Baldwin. But a fly to center would end the inning as Atlanta scored just a run for a 2-1 lead.

The Braves nearly plated another in the top of the fifth inning. After a leadoff walk by Ronald Acuna Jr., which was followed by a steal to second, Acuna was sent to third after Ozzie Albies had a one-out single. But as Alcuna Jr. tried scoring, he was thrown out at home and it remained just a 2-1 lead as Milwaukee got out of the inning stranding Albies at first thanks to a fly to left.

The Atlanta Braves struck first in the top of the second inning. A ground-rule double by Mauricio Dubon on a line drive into right brought home Ozzie Albies, who singled on a grounder in the inning. But with two runners on base, including one in scoring position, the Braves weren't able to add another run.

In the bottom of the third, the Milwaukee Brewers tied it up. After an out opened the inning, Brice Yurang reached on a single. After a ground out, Jake Bauers connected on a deep single into right field that allowed Yurang to score and tie the game up at 1-all. But that would be the only run the Braves would get across the plate at Bowman Field as a strikeout ended the game with Bauers in scoring position at second base.

Shane Drohan earned the loss on the mound to drop to 6-5 after throwing five innings, allowing eight hits, two runs (earned) with three walks and five strikeouts.

Offensively, the Brewers were led by Mauricio Dubon (1 for 3, double), Austin Riley (2 for 3), Harris II (1 for 5), Ronald Acuna Jr. (1 for 3), Albies (2 for 5), Lane Thomas (2 for 3), Drake Baldwin (1 for 4) and Sean Murphy (1 for 4). 

The Milwaukee Brewers had four players record multiple hits in Jackson Chourio (2 for 5), William Contreras (2 for 5), Andrew Vaughn (2 for 4) and Christian Yelich (2 for 3). Yelich hit a double for the Brewers while Luis Lara was 1 for 3 with a triple.

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