HYANNIS, Mass. — Nate Whysong sprinted into the dugout after the eighth inning, high-fived his teammates and threw his glove down, letting everyone know how he felt about Hyannis.
"Let's f—ing go I own you guys," Whysong yelled.
It was the juice the Braves needed. Entering the ninth they were three outs away from meeting the fate of elimination in the playoffs — the cry from Whysong sparked a comeback, as Bourne took a 5-4 lead after a two-run double from Mark Quatrani in the top of the frame.
Then Whysong took the mound again. First, Ryan McKay flew out. Second, Gabe Camacho struck out swinging. To end the 1-2-3 inning and give the Braves the win, Whysong had Deiten Lachance fanning at the air, striking him out to end the game.
Whysong tipped his hat just above his head, cocked his right arm and exploded in celebration, screaming "come on" in the direction of the dugout after he punched out Lachance. He strutted toward Quatrani at the midway point between home plate and the pitchers mound, pointed at him and went in for the celebratory dap up with nothing but pure adrenaline on display.
"It takes a big man to do that. He's had his pitch count and he's been starting for the last half of the summer," field manager Scott Landers said. "He eliminated the big inning with the amount of pitches he threw. He was down in the zone. His heater was working really well today, but he showed a lot of resiliency to me. I'm really excited for that kid."
It was nothing short of perfection from the hurler from Wake Forest. He was the flame that that ignited the fire for Bourne, picking up the win in an outing that featured a scoreless 5 1/3 innings pitched with eight strikeouts to go along with three hits and zero walks.
"I was just playing everything off my heater. I felt good in warmups. I felt good in the bullpen," Whysong said. "I had that going for me. We've been working all week on getting some offspeed in the zone, because I've been very consistent with it, but tonight, everything was there."
Whysong came in after Folger Boaz struggled as the starter, where he gave up four runs. So with the season on the line, Whysong had to be perfect and not let the game escalate for the Braves.
"I go out there and stay in my process, no matter what the external factors are and compete to the best that I can," Whysong said.
It was notable the way Whysong's emotions were on display late in the game. He flexed. He shouted. He let his coaches, teammates and the Harbor Hawks know that he meant business.
The fiery character is something that drives Whysong, and despite the antics, sometimes he doesn't even know when it happens.
"I like to keep some good self-talking going," Whysong said. "I don't let any negative thoughts enter my head when I'm out there. Just stay in my process, stay in my breath and just zone out sometimes."
Whysong has been an instrumental part of the arms for Bourne throughout the entire season, whether it be out of the bullpen or as a starter.
The Braves simply don't force a Game 3 against Hyannis without his performance, and he's grateful for the opportunity to showcase what he's capable of this summer, especially in a big moment like the one he had on Wednesday.
"It's been awesome. I didn't get the time that I wanted to in the spring," Whysong said. "Coming up here and playing the whole summer and getting innings has been very beneficial."
