Braves manager Brian Snitker had no problem with Ozzie Albies' aggressive attempt to score. But he was among those left to wonder how things might have been different had the second baseman not hesitated at what proved to be one of the most critical moments of a 3-2, 10-inning Opening Day loss to the Phillies on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

“I don’t know what happened,” Snitker said. “I thought he was going to stop for a minute.”

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After Jean Segura’s two-out single off Nate Jones bounced past third baseman Austin Riley to end the game, the focus was placed on what the Braves might have squandered in the top of the 10th. Atlanta had received a determined effort from Max Fried, a clutch pinch-hit home run from Pablo Sandoval and solid work from its bullpen.

But a bases-loaded threat went unrewarded in the eighth and the Braves couldn’t capitalize on the extra-inning rules, which place an automatic runner on second base at the start of each inning.

“I still like [the rule],” Snitker said. “I think it does add a lot to the game. We had a chance and they took advantage of it more than we did. It’s just one of them things.”

Albies was placed on second base to start the 10th and advanced to third on a Freddie Freeman groundout. That set the stage for Marcell Ozuna, who hit a lazy fly ball to Roman Quinn in center field.

Quinn caught it with his momentum going forward and unleashed a 96.7 mph throw that catcher J.T. Realmuto secured before halting Albies’ head-first slide toward the plate.

Albies said he initially heard third-base coach Ron Washington send him.

“[Washington] said, 'Go,'” Albies said. “Once the game was over, I asked him what he thought about it. He said, ‘I told you to go and then I was saying, ‘No, no, no.'' But I didn’t hear him. So I just went home. He made a good throw, and I was out at home plate.”

Snitker said he supported the aggressive decision to attempt to score in that situation.

“You’ve got to make him throw you out there, and he did,” Snitker said. “It’s hard to get a two-out hit in this league. It’s got to be perfect, and it was. [Realmuto] made a good play on the pick and a good tag. A hundred out of a hundred you’ve got to go right there.”

Big bopper
Sandoval proved he still has some pop in his bat when he drilled a game-tying, two-run homer off Aaron Nola with two outs in the seventh. Top prospect Cristian Pache had extended the inning with a double, and Sandoval followed with a liner that had a 111.5 mph exit velocity against Nola’s 84th and final pitch of the day.

Dating back to when Statcast began tracking data in 2015, that stands as the 10th-hardest-hit ball by Sandoval, who earned a bench spot after going to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. The 2012 World Series Most Valuable Player has struggled offensively over the past five years, but the Braves believe he can be a valuable switch-hitter off the bench and a good leader in the clubhouse.

“He’s had as good of a spring as anybody swinging that bat,” Snitker said. “He’s aggressive. No situation is going to be too big for him. That was really good to see. We felt if we didn’t use him there, we might not get another chance to use him. He did exactly what we needed him to do. That was awesome.”

Fried’s effort
Sandoval’s pinch-hit homer halted some doubt about Atlanta’s bench and also prevented Fried from suffering what would have been a tough-luck loss. The lefty registered eight strikeouts and allowed just two runs while working five innings in his first Opening Day start.

It was an outing marred by some misfortune for Fried. The one ball he put in play -- a fifth-inning groundout -- had a higher exit velocity (105.8 mph) than any of the balls put in play against him. The Phillies produced an 83.2 mph average exit velocity against Fried, who ranked first among all MLB pitchers last year with a 23.8 hard-hit percentage.

Fried allowed a run after a walk and hit batter loaded the bases in the first. Philadelphia added another run in the third, when Realmuto produced an RBI single with a slow grounder to a vacated right side of the infield that came off his bat at 61.6 mph.

Cold and windy conditions enhanced the challenge for Fried, who struggled to find a feel for his curveball. But after battling some shaky command in the first few innings, he settled in and proved to once again be a strong competitor.

“It’s just one of those things where you have to make adjustments in-game to fix that,” Fried said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t do it quick enough in the beginning, and I obviously put us behind.”