Braves vs. Cubs Series Wrap

Ahh, this was a series! Watching the Braves and Cubs compete against each other is always fun to watch. And this series did not disappoint. The Braves bats really started to come to life in the first three games of this series, and it was nice to see the lower part of the lineup, along with the top part of the Braves lineup, to contribute to the Braves’ offense.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Zach Davies, Braves won 8-7

This was an exciting and suspenseful game to start of this series between the Braves and the Cubs. This game started off great for the Braves. They scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Ozzie Albies, a two-run single by Travis d’Arnaud, and an RBI double by Guillermo Heredia. After that first inning, it seemed like this would be an easy win for the Braves. That is, until, Kris Bryant hit a game-tying grand slam in the top of the third inning. Then things became a bit iffy. The Braves, however, didn’t let that discourage them too much because in the bottom of the third inning, Dansby Swanson hit a solo home run which gave the Braves the lead back to make the score 5-4. The scoring in this game went back and forth. One team would score, then the other. That can make a game stressful, and this game certainly had some stress. In the top of the fifth inning, the Cubs tied the game on a sac fly by Anthony Rizzo, which scored Tony Wolters. However, Freddie Freeman did not let the tied game last. In the bottom of the fifth inning he hit an absolute missile to right field for a three run home run to give the Braves an 8-5 lead. His bat has been coming to life lately along with other guys in the Braves lineup, especially the lower part. It’s been good to see, and it took them long enough! Wilson Contreras hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning to make it a 8-7 game, but it wasn’t enough. The Braves held onto the lead and won the first game.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Trevor Williams, Braves won 5-0

It’s safe to say that Ian Anderson pitched an absolute gem for the Braves. Over seven scoreless innings he gave up one hit, one walk, and he struck out eight Cubs batters. He baffled the Cubs during this outing. It was good to see him be able to have command over his stuff and the strike zone. The Braves backed up Anderson’s scoreless outing with five runs. They scored two in the bottom of the fifth inning. One came on a gigantic home run by Ronald Acuña Jr. and the other on a RBI double by Ozzie Albies that scored Freddie Freeman. They didn’t score the other three until the bottom of the eighth inning. Ozzie Albies scored on a RBI single out of Dansby Swanson and then Panda (Pablo Sandoval) had a two-RBI single which scored Swanson and Austin Riley who reached base on a Cubs fielding error. The Braves bats are coming to life against the Cubs, and it paid off in this game.

Game Three: Huascar Ynoa vs. Kyle Hendricks, Braves won 10-0

Another shut-out game, another Braves win. And this was a very fun game to watch. Ynoa’s pitching performance was, once again, very impressive. He pitched 5 and 1/3 scoreless innings with nine strike outs. He gave up four Cubs hits and allowed only one walk. For the Braves in this game, they scored early and often. Marcell Ozuna and Austin Riley hit two run home runs in the bottom of the first inning to give the Braves a 4-0 lead early. Neither of those were cheap shots. They scored two more runs in the bottom of the second on a Freddie Freeman double. Okay, here’s where the game of baseball can get even more exciting and fun. Huascar Ynoa has hit very well so far in the season (which is surprising for a pitcher), and he was already 1-for-1 with a single in the bottom of the second. In his second at-bat, which came in the bottom of the fourth inning, Ynoa hit a solo home run. A HOME RUN!! Are you kidding me?? Not only can this kid pitch very well… he can hit, too. It blows my mind how he can not only have a good game on the mound, throwing quality pitches and having good command, but he can also hit. I mean c’mon, he hit a home run! He has been exciting to watch on the mound and in the batters box, and I sure hope that that will continue throughout the rest of the season. After Ynoa made it a 7-0 game with a home run, Guillermo Heredia had a RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning. Braves still lead, 8-0. As if the Braves hadn’t had enough home run excitement for the night, Freddie Freeman hit a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth inning, which was followed by an Ozzie Albies’ home run to make the game 10-0.

Alright y’all, the Cubs knew that they were losing by a lot and were most likely going to get beaten. So they decided to save some of their guys in the bullpen by having position players pitch. They had Anthony Rizzo, their first baseman, come pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning. He faced three batters (the minimum) he got Camargo out, walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and then he got to face his fellow first baseman, Freddie Freeman. It was so funny to watch because they were both laughing so hard and neither could keep a straight face during the entire at-bat. After he struck out Freeman, the Cubs had their third baseman, Matt Duffy, come and pitch. He got the final out of the bottom of the seventh inning when he got Ozuna to ground out. Then for the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cubs had their second baseman, Eric Sogard, pitch the entire inning. That made this game even more fun to watch plus a Braves win.

Game Four: Bryse Wilson vs. Adbert Alzolay, Braves lost 9-3

We all knew it was coming. The Cubs bats had been pretty silent all series except for the first game. They were bound to break out at some point. Wilson hasn’t had the greatest start to his season so far, and that continued in this game. His pitches haven’t been bad, he just hasn’t gotten the results that he wants from them — not to mention that his balls to strikes ratio has been all over the place. He gave up two runs in the first inning: one on a Kris Bryant single and the other on a balk which allowed Matt Duffy to score from third base. He only went three innings and gave up seven hits, four runs, two walks, and he only had one strikeout. After his early exit, it was up to the Braves bullpen which has been iffy over the first few weeks of the season, and it didn’t go too well. The Cubs ended up scoring nine runs. The Braves, however, didn’t go the entire game without scoring. Austin had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning, Marcell Ozuna hit a humungous home run in the bottom of the sixth, and Ronald Acuña Jr. had an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

Even though the Braves didn’t sweep the Cubs, it was good to see the whole lineup, even the pitchers spot, be able to get on base and contribute to the club offensively!