Forgotten Classics: A 9-run comeback leads to drama in extras

Editor's note: This is the first edition of Forgotten Classics, an occasional series that will look back at notable Braves games that were a big deal when they happened but are rarely discussed today.

Braves at Nationals: July 20, 2012

Why it's a classic: The Braves trailed the divisional rival Nationals 9-0 in the sixth inning before storming back to take the lead and ultimately win in extra innings.

The setup: The 2012 Braves had something to prove. They were coming off a disappointing 2011 season in which they watched a comfortable 9 1/2-game Wild Card lead evaporate over the final weeks as an inexplicable 9-18 September produced one of the more dramatic collapses in MLB history.

They started 2012 relatively strong and were in or near first place for much of the first half before a cooldown allowed the Nationals to build a lead that reached six games in early July. But when a resurgent Atlanta came to Washington for a four-game series on July 20, the Braves had narrowed the Nats' lead to 3 1/2 games -- making the series an important one for Atlanta.

The turning point: Entering the top of the sixth, trailing 9-0, the Braves' win expectancy, per FanGraphs, was 0.3%. To make matters worse, they were facing Washington pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg, who had just pitched in his first All-Star Game and entered the day with a 2.66 ERA through 18 starts.

Yet the Braves were not deterred. They knocked Strasburg out of the game with four hits in five at-bats to open the sixth, including Brian McCann's two-run homer. Martín Prado's two-run double off reliever Mike Gonzalez made it a 9-4 game and at least put Atlanta within striking distance. Two innings later, a bases-loaded walk to Jason Heyward, and run-scoring singles from Chipper Jones and Freddie Freeman pulled the Braves to within a run.

The big blow: After the Braves scored four more runs in the eighth to pull within one, they rallied again in the ninth off Nationals closer Tyler Clippard. With two on and one out, Michael Bourn hit a drive to right that looked like it might clear the wall for a go-ahead three-run homer. Instead, the ball landed high on the scoreboard and went for a two-run triple that vaulted the Braves into a 10-9 lead. The drama wasn't even close to finished, however.

The deciding play: The game didn’t end in the ninth because Danny Espinosa tied things back up on a one-out solo homer off Craig Kimbrel. After an uneventful 10th, Dan Uggla led off the 11th with an infield single, went to second on an errant throw to first and went to third on a passed ball. Paul Janish then blooped a floater into shallow left field to score Uggla and put the Braves back in front. Chad Durbin set down the Nats 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, punctuated by a diving stop from Uggla to end the game.

The aftermath: The win pulled the Braves to within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Nationals, and they got to within 1 1/2 after winning the first game of the doubleheader the next day. But Atlanta would never get any closer to the division lead. The Braves dropped the next two games of the four-game set in D.C. and Washington would eventually go on to capture the division title with a 98-64 record. The Braves, finishing at 94-68, settled for the Wild Card and would lose to the Cardinals in the first NL Wild Card Game, which would infamously come to be known in Atlanta as "The Infield Fly Game."

Crazy stat of the game: Durbin pitched in 456 big league games over 14 seasons, mostly as a reliever. This was just his fifth (and final) career save.

Remember this guy: Lefty Eric O'Flaherty pitched a scoreless 10th inning, on his way to a 1.73 ERA for the 2012 Braves -- part of a five-year stretch (2009-13) in which he posted a 1.99 ERA over 295 appearances with Atlanta.