SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. (Interstat) — For eight and a half innings on Saturday, a masterful pitching duel at Truist Park pointed toward a narrow, hard-fought victory for the Kansas City Royals. Then, the bottom of the ninth inning happened.

In a stunning and decisive reversal, the Atlanta Braves erupted for six runs in the final frame, capped by a Dominic Smith grand slam, to snatch a 6-2 victory from the jaws of defeat before a crowd of 39,362. The win gave the Braves a 2-0 start to the season, while the Royals fell to 0-2.

The story for the vast majority of the game was dominant starting pitching. Kansas City’s Michael Wacha and Atlanta’s Reynaldo López, the top star for the Braves, engaged in a tense scoreless duel. Wacha was brilliant, scattering three hits over six shutout innings while striking out seven. He navigated minimal traffic, inducing two double plays to erase any potential threats.

López was nearly his equal, allowing just three hits over his six innings of work. His lone blemish came on a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning, but by then he had exited the game. That blast from Salvador Perez, a fly ball to left-center field, finally broke the scoreless tie and gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.

Kansas City added what seemed like a critical insurance run in the eighth. Maikel Garcia walked, advanced to third on a Bobby Witt Jr. single, and scored when Atlanta first baseman Matt Olson misplayed a grounder from Vinnie Pasquantino for an error. That gave the Royals a 2-0 advantage, and with their bullpen needing just three outs, the victory appeared secure.

The Royals’ relief corps had been effective. Matt Strahm worked a scoreless seventh, and Lucas Erceg navigated a single and a walk in a scoreless eighth. Closer Carlos Estévez took the mound for the ninth with the two-run lead.

The collapse was swift and total. Estévez, charged with the loss, immediately walked Drake Baldwin. Matt Olson followed with a sharp single to right, putting runners at the corners. After Austin Riley popped out, Mike Yastrzemski lined a single to center, scoring Baldwin and cutting the deficit to 2-1. Estévez then walked Ozzie Albies to load the bases.

Michael Harris II then hit a chopper back to the mound. Estévez could not field it cleanly, and his late throw home was not in time to prevent Jorge Mateo, pinch-running for Olson, from scoring the tying run. The bases remained loaded.

That brought Smith to the plate. On a 1-1 pitch from Estévez, the Braves’ designated hitter connected, launching a towering drive to right-center field for a grand slam. The walk-off blast triggered a frenzied celebration at home plate as the Braves completed an improbable comeback.

The victory went to Osvaldo Bido, who struck out the side in a perfect top of the ninth inning for Atlanta. The Braves’ bullpen, aside from a shaky one-third of an inning from Joel Payamps who allowed the eighth-inning unearned run, was stellar. Dylan Lee struck out two in a scoreless inning, and Aaron Bummer recorded two outs in the eighth.

The game was a stark contrast to the statistical projections. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a 3-2 Atlanta win, while its ELO system gave the Braves a 53 percent probability to win. The Braves covered the -1.5 spread with the late outburst, and the total score of eight went over the over/under line of 8.5.

For the Royals, it was a devastating loss after such a strong pitching performance. They managed only five hits, with Perez’s homer and a double from Jac Caglianone accounting for the only extra-base hits. The Braves finished with nine hits, four of which came in the decisive ninth inning.

The two teams will conclude their three-game series on Sunday. Kansas City will look to avoid a sweep before heading home to face the Minnesota Twins. Atlanta will host the Athletics for a three-game set beginning Monday.