The Braves appeared to end the Astros’ season in the first inning Sunday night. Atlanta outfielder Adam Duvall’s grand slam off Framber Valdez was a devastating gut punch that induced feelings of concession right at the outset. After all, it was an elimination game on the road, and the Astros had scored two runs total in the past two games. The possibility of digging out of a 4-0 hole seemed highly unlikely. Not just because it required the offense to score several runs, but because a spent bullpen would again have to pick up the starting rotation’s slack.
The Astros’ bats awakened, but it was yet another clutch bullpen performance that sealed Game 5
