Month: June 2021

Braves vs. Reds Series Wrap

Another split series, but hey, I’d rather have that than a sweep. The Braves lost the first game, won the second, lost the third, and then won the fourth and final game of the series against Cincinnati. Once again pitching was the main problem. I am willing to bet money on it; once the Atlanta Braves can figure out their bullpen problems, they will be an even better team than they have already proved they can be because they won’t be blowing every other game they play.

Game One: Jesse Chavez vs. Tony Santillan, Braves lost 5-3

Atlanta struck first in the scoring category. In the top of the first inning, Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run to give his team a 1-0 lead.

I’d personally never seen Jesse Chavez pitch before this game. His stuff was decent. I would’ve liked to’ve seen him pitch more than just 2.1 innings, but that didn’t happen. In his 2.1 innings, he gave up to hits, two runs, one walk and he had three strikeouts.

The Reds kept up their 2-1 lead all the way into the seventh inning, where they added on. Luke Jackson was pitching for the Braves and this was the first outing where he actually struggled. He gave up a two run home run to Reds right fielder, Nick Castellanos to extend their lead to 4-0.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Braves made a shot at coming back. Freddie Freeman started the inning with a lineout. My my, Ozzie Albies was up to bat following Freeman with one out. On the first pitch he saw, he hit it out of the ballpark for solo home run making the Braves one run closer at 4-2. Austin Riley followed Ozzie’s homer with a single, and then Abraham Almonte reached base on a fielding error by Cincinnati’s first baseman, Joey Votto. Ehire Adrianza came up to bat (he was in the game playing right field for Ronald Acuña Jr., who wasn’t in the game because of back tightness), and he had an RBI single that scored Austin Riley making the score 4-3. The Braves had another opportune chance to score again that inning, but it wasn’t meant to be.

Chris Martin came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth inning for the Braves and keep them within a one run differential. Martin, however, wasn’t able to do that. After getting the first two batters to groundout and lineout, he gave up a double to the Reds second baseman Jonathan India, which was followed by a walk to Jesse Winker. So, with two out and two on, Nick Castellanos was up to bat. He had a first pitch RBI single that extended the Reds lead to 5-3. Winker was thrown out trying to score all the way from first to end the inning, but India had already scored before he got out.

Game Two: Drew Smyly vs. Vladimir Gutierrez, Braves won 3-2

Drew Smyly pitched very well for Atlanta. He went six innings, gave up six hits, one run, ZERO walks, and he had three strikeouts. His command was good, he had control over where his pitches were going, and he never got into any high-stress situations. To end his outing, Smyly only had 84 pitches. I think he could’ve gone at least another inning.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth. After two quick outs of the Braves’ eighth place hitter and pitcher, Acuña kept the inning alive with a walk. Acuña stole second base and then Freddie Freeman hit a ground-rule, RBI double giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. In the top of sixth inning, with two outs, Dansby Swanson hit a first-pitch, solo home run extending Atlanta’s lead at 2-0.

The Reds scored one in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Tyler Stephenson to make it 2-1. However, Guillermo Heredia hit a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning to extend the Braves lead at 3-1. It was sent into straightaway center, and it went a LONG way.

Cincinnati came one run closer in the bottom of the seventh inning when Eugenio Suarez it a solo home run, but it wasn’t enough and the Braves won with a final score of 3-2.

Game Three: Ian Anderson vs. Luis Castillo, Braves lost 4-1

Ian Anderson did not pitch a bad game for the Braves. He just made a couple pitch mistakes and the Cincinnati lineup took advantage of that. Anderson went six inning; he allowed five hits, three runs, one walk, and he had a career-tying nine strikeouts.

The Reds had a three-nothing lead coming into the top of the eighth inning. Freddie Freeman started the inning with a groundout. My man, Ozzie Albies followed his strikeout with a four pitch walk. Austin Riley followed Ozzie with a three pitch, swinging strikeout. There were now two outs with one on. Swanson kept the inning alive with a walk. So two men, Albies and Swanson, reached base via the base-on-balls. Guillermo Heredia had an RBI single that scored Ozzie and got the Braves on the board, making it a 3-1.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Edgar Santana came on to pitch for Atlanta. The second pitch he threw was hit out of the ballpark by Red’s catcher Tyler Stephenson, extending their lead to 4-1.

The Braves could not get their bats to come to life enough in the ninth inning to give them a chance to score, so the Reds won.

Game Four: Kyle Muller vs. Tyler Mahle, Braves won 4-0

What a game for Kyle Muller! He went five scoreless innings, only allowed one hit, two walks, and he struck out nine Cincinnati players. Muller has some impressive stuff. He made pitches when he needed to, he didn’t work too many deep counts, and never had to work his way out of a high-stress situation.

Offensively in this game, it was all Braves. Guillermo Heredia was hit by a pitch to start the top of the third inning. He was followed by two strikeouts; one by cater Kevan Smith and the other by pitcher, Kyle Muller. Acuña kept the inning going with an RBI double, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. The very next pitch following Acuña’s double, Freddie Freeman hit for an RBI single to score Ronald and extend the Braves lead to 2-0.

In the top of the fifth inning, the Braves added onto their lead when Ronald Acuña Jr. went yard, sending one into the seats in straightaway center for a solo home run; making it 3-0 Atlanta. In the top of the sixth inning, Austin Riley decided to get in on the home run fun. He hit a solo home run, also to straightaway center, extending the Braves’ lead once again making it 4-0.

This was an overall great game for the Atlanta Braves. Starting pitch was great and so was the bullpen. Offensively, it went well for the Braves, too. It seems they have a game like this every series. If they can get into the groove/routine of doing this more often, they are going to win a lot more baseball games. Come on, Bravos!

Braves vs. Mets Series Wrap

The New York Mets are in first place for a reason. They have very good pitching. They have a good bullpen, and they don’t have to worry about it blowing close games for them. Plus, they have a decent hitting lineup all the way through. The Atlanta Braves put up a good fight against them however. They split the series, and the doubleheader. Their main problem was relief pitching. A trend that we’ve seen haunt them throughout the entire 2021 season thus far.

Game One: Kyle Muller vs. Jacob DeGrom, Braves lost 4-2

Jacob DeGrom is a very tough pitcher to face, and the Braves got to experience him first hand. The Braves got one hit and two walks off of DeGrom. One of the walks that he surrendered to the Braves was to Atlanta’s pitcher Kyle Muller. In his first major league plate-appearance, Muller drew an eight pitch walk off of Mets ace, Jacob DeGrom. You know he had to be absolutely pumped about that outcome, and it’s something that he will never forget.

Kyle Muller pitched well for the Braves in his first major league appearance as a starting pitcher. He gave up one run, which came on a wild pitch, one hit, two walks and had three strikeouts over four innings. The Braves bullpen was ultimately what blew the game for Atlanta. Braves manager Brian Snitker only let Muller go four innings. I get that it was his first appearance as a starter in his career (it was only his second appearance… ever), but he only had 56 pitches and was doing quite well. In the end, it was one of those questionable bullpen calls made by Snitker that didn’t pay off for the Braves.

The pitcher that Snitker brought on after Kyle Muller, was Shane Greene. Greene re-signed with Atlanta in the middle of this season. He hasn’t preformed very well, but he has had a lot of pressure on him and has tried to over preform. He got the first out, then hit the next batter. He gave up two straight singles to load the bases with Mets. He got the next batter out. So it was bases loaded, two outs. Dominic Smith was up to bat for New York, and he hit a bases clearing double to extend the Mets lead at 4-0.

The only real offense that the Braves had was in the top of the sixth inning. After Ronald Acuña Jr. struck out, Freddie Freeman followed him with what he does best… a walk. My man, Ozzie Albies, got the Braves on the board when he smoked a two-run dinger into the seats in right center field. That made the score 4-2 New York still on top, the final score of the game.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Jerad Eickhoff, Braves won 1-0; game two of doubleheader

This was such a good game- it was even better because the Braves won. It was a close game all the way through with high-stress innings, pitches, and defensive plays.

Ian Anderson pitched great for Atlanta. He went 5.1 innings, allowed three hits, one walk and had five strikeouts. He ran into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning, which is ultimately why Anderson was taken out of the game.

A.J. Minter was brought in following Ian Anderson. He got into a little bit of deeper trouble, but the Mets’ players on base made some bad base running mistakes, and Atlanta’s great defense took full advantage of it to get out of trouble.

The one run that the Atlanta Braves scored was on a solo home run by Ronald Acuña Jr. in the top of the fifth inning. It went a long way, and not only did he watch it, but he got an ear-full of boo’s from the New York fan base. Braves lead 1-0.

Will Smith came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth for the Braves and to try and seal 1-0 Atlanta lead. He worked himself into a mess. He had bases loaded with one out. However, the Mets, once again, had some bad base running and got themselves out. It was almost like they were looking for ways to get out… that’s how bad it was. I’m not complaining however! It was great way for the Braves to preserve their 1-0 lead.

Game Three: Charlie Morton vs. Marcus Stroman, Braves won 3-0

It’s not every day that you shut out your division-leading rivals in back to back games… but the Atlanta Braves did it to the New York Mets!

Charlie Morton pitched very well for the Braves. He went seven innings, allowed one hit, two walks, and he had ELEVEN strikeouts. He threw 107 pitches, none of them were high-stress. He had total control over the Mets lineup, and it paid off great for the Braves in the end.

Atlanta scored all three of their runs with one swing of the bat in the top of the third. After Freddie Freeman flew out, Ozzie got on base with a one out single. Abraham Almonte followed him with a walk. Austin Riley made the second out on a groundout, but he advanced both runners to second and third. That brought Dansby Swanson up with two out, and runners in scoring position. On the first pitch he saw, Swanson hit the baseball out of the park for a three-run homer, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead.

That was all the Braves needed. The bullpen followed Morton with a good, clean outing securing the Braves victory.

Game Four: Kyle Wright vs. Tylor Megill, Braves lost 7-3

Kyle Wright, made his first start of the 2021 season, and it wasn’t pretty. He went two innings, gave up five hits, five runs, and three walks. He did have one strikeout, but it didn’t make much difference in his overall performance. With his early departure, that left a LOT of ground for the Braves bullpen to cover.

Atlanta scored three runs. Two came in the top of the fifth inning when Ender Inciarte hit a two-run homer. The other run they scored came in the top of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Ehire Adrianza that scored Austin Riley.

Pitching was the biggest problem for the Braves in this game. Wright started the game with bad pitching, and that set the tone for the rest of the game.

Braves vs. Cardinals Series Wrap

Winning three out of four of the games in this series, the Atlanta Braves started to look a little more like an impressive MLB team. Winning the first two, the Braves had some serious momentum going into game three… until it was postponed a day because of the rain. They played a doubleheader for the last two games, and split those with the Cards.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. John Gant, Braves won 4-0

What a game for Charlie Morton! He went 7.2 innings, allowed only three hits, ZERO runs, ZERO walks, oh and he had seven strikeouts. He was very impressive, and it was so nice to see a Braves starting pitcher go more than five innings. He dominated over St. Louis’ lineup, throwing pitches they couldn’t see and hitting his spots wonderfully.

Offensively, in the game, it was ALL Braves. Guillermo Heredia broke the scoreless streak in the bottom of the fifth inning when he hit a solo home run, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. They added onto that 1-0 lead in the bottom of the sixth when, my man, Ozzie Albies had an RBI triple that scored Acuña and extended the lead to 2-0. It amazes me how fast Ozzie is. He flies around the base pads! Abraham Almonte followed Ozzie’s triple with an RBI double that scored Ozzie and made it a 3-0 game.

The Braves scored their final score on a sac fly by Ronald Acuña Jr. in the bottom of the seventh. That sac fly scored Heredia and made the score 4-0. That was the final score of this game. I think we can all agree… the superstar of this game was Charlie Morton.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Carlos Martínez, Braves won 9-1

In baseball, there’s nothing I love more than a Braves win. Well… except when Ozzie Albies has a great night. And in this game, he did awesome!! We’ll get into everything he did in greater detail, but he was 3-5 with a home run. Also, he was just a triple away from hitting for the cycle.

Max Fried pitched very well for the Braves. He went seven innings, only allowed two hits and one run. He did have two walks, but he also had six strikeouts. Fried never seemed to get himself into any trouble. He had a few baserunners scattered, but it was never a “concern.” He had good command over his pitches and his pitch count. Overall it was just a great outing for Max Fried.

The one run that the St. Louis Cardinals scored was in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by Paul Goldschmidt. It also gave them a 1-0 lead. (Which didn’t last long!)

The Braves came right back to tie the game at one in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Austin Riley that scored Ozzie, who reached base with a double in the previous AB. That single tied the game at one apiece.

The second inning is where Atlanta’s offense did a lot of their damage. William Contreras led off the Braves half of the second with a ONE PITCH solo home run to left center field. That bomb off of his bat gave the Braves a 2-1 lead. After two quick outs of the Braves eighth place hitter (Heredia) and the pitcher (Fried), Acuña drew a walk to keep the inning alive. Following his walk, Ronald stole second base to get into scoring position. Freddie Freeman had an RBI single to score Acuña and extend the Braves lead to 3-1. And then… my man, Ozzie Albies, on the second pitch he saw, hit a monstrous two-run home run into the TOP of the Chop House extending the Braves lead to 5-1. That baseball went so far off of Ozzie’s bat… I didn’t know if it was ever gonna land!

Along with the second inning, the fourth inning was where the Braves scored the rest of their runs. Acuña was hit by a pitch, which was followed by a walk to Freeman. Ozzie came up and had an RBI single that scored Acuña. However, Ozzie wasn’t gonna be satisfied with just a single. Using his speed he stretched it into a double after review. That made the score 6-1. Abraham Almonte followed Ozzie’s single-double with an RBI single of his own to score Freeman and extend the Braves lead to 7-1. Austin Riley then scored Ozzie with a sac fly, making it 8-1. Dansby Swanson followed Riley with a single and then Contreras followed him with a walk to load the bases with Braves. Max Fried came up with two out and drew a 6-pitch, bases loaded walk to extend the Braves lead to 9-1; the final score.

This was a very good game for the Braves all around. Starting pitching, bullpen pitching, offensive and run scoring, good defense; it all clicked for the Atlanta Braves.

Game Three: Bryse Wilson vs. Adam Wainwright, Braves lost 9-1; game one of doubleheader

Bryse Wilson didn’t have that great of a start for Atlanta. He only went four innings, allowed eight hits and five runs. He didn’t give up a walk and he had four strikeouts, which was a good thing. In fact, that was probably the most encouraging thing of his start.

After the off day because of the rain, it was like the Braves lost their offensive momentum, and St. Louis took great advantage of it. They scored a total of nine runs. The Braves only scored one, and that was when the Braves had a double steal which allowed Freeman to score in the bottom of the fourth on a strikeout of Almonte.

Overall the biggest problem for Atlanta in this game, was pitching. That really has been the Braves’ main problem of this season. Bullpen pitching has gotten better, but it still needs work.

Game Four: Drew Smyly vs. Kwang Hyun Kim, Braves won 1-0; game two of doubleheader

What a game! It was close, suspenseful, and worthwhile because the Braves came out on top.

Drew Smyly pitched fantastic. He went 5.2 innings, gave up one hit, ZERO runs, three walks, and he had five strikeouts. He dominated over the Cardinals’ lineup, and it paid off.

The bullpen for Atlanta was great in this game. The bullpen only gave up one hit, and three walks. Other than that they were lights out. This win proves even more that when the Braves have good pitching, it doesn’t matter how many runs they score… as long as it’s more than the other team.

That ONE run that the Braves scored was in the bottom of the third. It was on a solo home run by Ronald Acuña Jr. He smoked that ball to straightaway center, and it gave the Atlanta Braves a 1-0 lead.

End the end, this series was good for the Braves. They had much better pitching, and some much awaited offense!

Braves vs. Red Sox Series Wrap

This is certainly not how anyone expected this series to turn out. The Braves were swept by the Red Sox in a two game series… they lost both games with the same final score. And what’s even crazier is that both of the final runs scored for Atlanta were in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Game One: Tucker Davidson vs. Eduardo Rodriguez, Braves lost 10-8

Tucker Davidson did not have a great start to this game, and in the 2.1 innings he pitched he gave up five hits, five runs and one walk. He did have four strikeouts. Sometime after Davidson was taken out of the game, the Braves staff released information concerning him: Tucker Davidson was headed to the Injured List with a left forearm strain. I’m in no way making excuses for his underwhelming outing, but if I was a left handed pitcher with a hurt throwing arm… I don’t think I’d do very well.

With those five runs allowed in just the first two innings, the Braves had a long way to go to try and come back. The Braves scored one in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Freddie Freeman to get the Braves on the board. They added onto their scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning: they scored one on an RBI double by Abraham Almonte that scored Dansby Swanson. Then they scored two more on a two-RBI double by Ronald Acuña Jr, which scored Almonte and Ehire Adrianza, making it a 5-4 game.

However, Boston came right back and scored two more in the top of the fifth inning give them an extended lead of 7-4.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Braves had an offense spark that took advantage of miscues by the Red Sox defense. The Sox committed three errors in this game… all three came in the sixth inning. Boston failed to complete a fielders choice which allowed to Braves baserunners to be on the base pads, with no one out. Following that error, Guillermo Heredia had an RBI single to make it a 7-5 game. He advanced to second on another throwing error by the Rex Sox. Once again the Braves scored another unearned run on a passed ball, to make it a 7-6 game. To add on to the Red Sox embarrassing defense of the inning, Freddie Freeman had a sac fly to tie the game at 7 apiece.

After all the work the Braves did, taking advantage of the Red Sox defense to tie the game, Atlanta’s bullpen blew it late. In the top of the eighth inning, Chris Martin gave up a three run home run to Alex Verdugo to give Boston the lead again at 10-7.

The Braved tried to make a comeback in the bottom of the ninth. They scored one in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single by Austin Riley to make it 10-8, but Atlanta’s offense couldn’t give anything else, which lead to a Red Sox win.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Garrett Richards, Braves lost 10-8… I was at this game!!

This game was a rollercoaster, to say the least. Scoring, for both teams, was all over the place and you never knew what was going to happen at any given moment… no lead felt safe enough.

Ian Anderson pitched okay for the Braves. Despite his early inning struggles, he was able to keep the game under control. He only went four inning, gave up seven hits, four runs, only one walk, and he struck out a total of five Red Sox. Another thing that was promising about this start for him was that he did not give up a single home run. He kept the ball on the ground, not in the air.

The Red Sox scored two in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI double by Hunter Renfroe. In the bottom of the third inning, the Braves got one of those runs back on a sac fly by Abraham Almonte, which scored Freddie Freeman and made it a 2-1 game, with Boston on top.

Immediately after the Braves got one run on the board, Boston came right back and scored two in the top of the fourth going them a 4-1 lead. However, being the rollercoaster game it was, in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Braves came ever closer to the Red Sox.

Atlanta started the bottom of that inning with a triple by Dansby Swanson. (That was very exciting to watch in person!) His triple was followed by a strikeout of Braves catcher Kevan Smith. With one out, Guillermo Heredia was up to bat. After working a 2-2 count, he was plunked by a pitch and took first base. Brian Snitker put Ender Inciarte into the game as a pinch hitter for Anderson. He grounded out, but his groundout allowed Swanson to score and advanced Heredia to second base, making it 4-2. Boston’s pitcher had already hit one Braves batter in this inning, and then he also hit Ronald Acuña Jr. Acuña wasn’t very happy about being hit… understandable. However, he didn’t seek a fight and slowly took first base. Freeman scored the final Braves run of this inning with an RBI single that scored Heredia, and put the Braves right back in this game with a score of 4-3.

The Red Sox scored two more runs in the top of the sixth inning, making it a 6-3 game.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, things started to look real good for the Braves. Abraham Almonte had a double to start the game. Austin Riley followed him, reaching base on a fielding error by Red Sox shortstop. Then, Dansby Swanson was up to bat with two men on and NO ONE out. After working a 2-2 count he crushed the baseball into the left field seats for a game-tying three run dinger. Now that was fun to witness in person! The score is now 6-6. Freddie Freeman wasn’t satisfied with a tied score… so he took matters into his own hands. In the bottom of the sixth inning, he hit an opposite field, solo home run to make it a 7-6 game, Braves on top.

Alright, here is where things got frustrating. Braves now had the lead, a tight lead at that. Shane Greene comes on to pitch the seventh inning for Atlanta. He gives up a lead off double, followed by a walk and a strikeout. There’s one out and two men on, he gives up another walk to load the bases, and then gets another strikeout to make the second out. Boston’s coaching staff decided to bring on a left-handed pinch-hitter on to face righty pitcher Shane Greene with the bases loaded. So, Braves manager, Brian Snitker, decides to go deeper into his unstable bullpen. He brings on lefty A.J. Minter. Since Snitker brought on a left-handed pitcher, Boston decided to change their pinch-hitter to a right-handed one. After all those changes the game resumed. All Minter had to do was get one out. After getting Christian Arroyo (the pinch-hitter) to a 1-2 count, Minter hung a breaking ball down and over the plate. Arroyo was all over that pitch and hit out of the ballpark for a grand slam. Game score was now 10-7.

The Braves got, once again, one run closer in the bottom of the ninth inning. But after some really bad base running by Acuña to make the second out of the inning, Freeman struck out to end the game.

—

We all know it… the Braves bullpen this year isn’t that good. Luke Jackson is our only reliable pitcher. Will Smith is getting better, Tyler Matzek has his moments, as does Chris Martin, but other than that the bullpen isn’t great — and they definitely aren’t consistent. I don’t mean to sound rude in any way, but I think A.J. Minter is our worst bullpen pitcher so far this season. He has done things like he did in this game all throughout the season. His one job is to come and get one out, but instead he gives up multiple runs to the other team.

While I’m critiquing the bullpen… I have to include Braves manager Brian Snitker into this as well. Yes, I know, he is not a bullpen pitcher, but he is manager over the whole Braves team. That includes the bullpen. I get what he was trying to do, taking Greene out so it could be a lefty on lefty matchup, but he should have known that the Red Sox coaching staff would have enough common sense to swap pinch-hitters… and that’s exactly what they did!

Both Atlanta’s bullpen pitchers and who’s in control over the bullpen have some things to work out. They need to do it soon, otherwise it’s going to be an even harder season for our Atlanta Braves.

Braves vs. Marlins Series Wrap

For whatever reason the Braves always have a tendency to have a hard time when facing the Miami Marlins. The Marlins won the series, and the Braves barely avoided being swept.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Sandy Alcantara, Braves lost 4-3

The Braves started this game aggressively. In the top of the first inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. led off with a walk and then, following a review, he stole second base which got him into scoring position. Freeman advanced Acuña to third base on a ground out, and then my man Ozzie Albies had an RBI single to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.

Miami came right back in the bottom of the first and tied the game at one apiece on a sac fly by former Brave, Adam Duvall, which scored Starling Marte.

Ozzie and Acuña got it done for the Braves again in the top of the third. Acuña got on base with a double and then after Freeman flew out, Ozzie doubled Ronald home making it 2-1 Braves on top.

The fourth inning is where Charlie Morton got into some trouble. He started the inning with a one-pitch groundout of Duvall. After Morton got the first out, he walked Isan Diaz on four straight pitches and then hit the next batter. Free baserunners will more than likely always come back to haunt a pitcher, and sure enough, John Berti had an RBI single which tied the game at 2. After Morton got a strikeout of Alcantara for the second out, Marlins young stud, Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a two-RBI single that gave Miami the lead at 4-2.

The Braves came one run closer in the top of the seventh on an RBI double by Acuña Jr. that scored Ehire Adrianza to make it a 4-3 game, but the Braves couldn’t get anymore offense throughout the remainder of the game to tie or win.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Zach Thompson, Braves lost 4-2

Out of all Max Fried’s stats, the one that surprises me the most is this: he has never won a game against the Miami Marlins. This season alone he has a 0-2 record against the Fish. In this game he went six innings, allowed five hits, three runs, two walks and he had four strikeouts. Overall Fried didn’t pitch terrible, he just didn’t have good execution of his pitches and left some over the plate which the Marlins took advantage of.

The Braves were scoreless until the top of the eighth inning. Adrianza struck out swinging to start the inning, Acuña followed him with a single, and then Freddie Freeman hit a two-run home run getting the Braves on the board and making it a 3-2 game.

However, the Marlins came right back and scored another run in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single by Jesus Aguilar which scored Marte, extending Miami’s lead to 4-2, the final score of the game.

Game Three: Drew Smyly vs. Pablo López, Braves won 6-4

The Braves needed this win… and they got it!

Drew Smyly got the win for Atlanta. He went five innings, allowed six hits, two runs, one walk and he had six strikeouts. He got into a little but of trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning which accounts for the two runs he allowed, but other than that he pitched well.

The Braves started their scoring early. In the top of the first, Ronald Acuña Jr. started a game with a single, which was followed by a Freddie Freeman double. The Braves had runners on second and third with nobody out. Ozzie popped out, and then Abraham Almonte walked to load the bases with Braves. Austin Riley got the job done for Atlanta with a two-RBI double that gave the Braves an early lead of 2-0. The Braves scored another run in the first inning when Guillermo Heredia got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. After he got hit, Almonte scored extending Atlanta’s lead to 3-0 after one.

Austin Riley scored another run for the Braves when he hit a solo home run in the top of the third inning to extend Atlanta’s lead to 4-0. In the top of the fifth inning, Kevan Smith had an RBI single that scored Riley and once again extended the Braves lead to 5-0.

The Marlins scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it a 5-2 game. However, the Braves came back and scored one more run in the top of the sixth inning on a solo home run by Ender Inciarte to right field. Making it a 6-2 game with Atlanta in the lead.

Miami scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it 6-4, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. That led to a Braves win!

Braves vs. Phillies Series Wrap

The Braves won one out of three games in this series. They had a very, very good chance to win all three and sweep the Phillies. I firmly believe they should have won two of them.

Game One: Drew Smyly vs. Aaron Nola, Braves won 9-5

The Braves’ offense did what they are so good at in this game: keeping the score close and scoring multiple, needed extra runs late. They’re five-run eighth inning was HUGE for them to win this game.

Drew Smyly had a fairly good outing. He only went 4.1 innings, allowed five hits, three runs, three walks, and he had zero strikeouts. He only threw 80 pitches but he had some stressful innings and ultimately worked himself into a situation that he couldn’t get out of, so the Braves went to their bullpen.

The Atlanta offense started their scoring early. In the top of the first inning, after two quick outs by Ronald Acuña Jr. and Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies kept the inning alive with a walk. Austin Riley followed Ozzie with a single, and Ozzie, being so fast, was able to score all the way from first base giving the Braves a 1-0 lead! They scored again in the top of the third on a first pitch dinger by Acuña (his 18th) to left field making it 2-0.

The Phillies scored one in the bottom of the third, but the Braves came right back and scored another run in the top of the fourth inning on a solo home run by William Contreras. Contreras has had a few defensive concerns for the Braves, but he has some power at the plate. And given the situation he came up in, he’s doing a very good job!

The Phillies scored another run in the bottom of fourth on a solo home run by Bryce Harper (boo!). Once again, the Braves came right back and scored another run. This time it was on an RBI single by Freeman that scored Acuña who had led off with a double in his previous at bat.

In the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings, the Phillies rallied some runs and gave them the lead making it a 5-4 game.

Like I mentioned briefly before, the top of the eighth inning is where the Braves offense really came to life. After Ozzie grounded out to start the inning, Austin Riley had a massive solo home run to straight away center field tying the game at 5 apiece. Swanson got on base with a four pitch walk, and then he was followed by a one-pitch single by Abraham Almonte. Contreras scored Dansby on an RBI single and then Almonte scored on a force-out and error on the Phillies behalf giving the Braves a 7-5 lead. Ronald Acuña Jr scored the final two runs for the Braves on an RBI single, giving the game a final score of 9-5.

Game Two: Tucker Davidson vs. Zach Eflin, Braves lost 2-1

Pitching for both sides in this game was excellent. For the Braves, Davidson went six shutout innings, only allowing four hits, one walk and he had four strikeouts. In the few starts he has made for the Braves this year, he has been quite impressive!

The Braves scored their one run in the top of the sixth inning. Ozzie led off the inning with a first pitch single. After Austin Riley grounded into a double play, Dansby Swanson had a single, followed by another single off the bat of Abraham Almonte, which was followed by yet another single by William Contreras. Contreras’ single was an RBI single and gave the Braves a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Will Smith came on to pitch for the Braves. His ONE JOB was to preserve a 1-0 win for Atlanta… he was not able to do that. Yes, having a 1-0 lead that late in the game has to be quite stressful on a pitcher, but Will Smith ended up hurting himself. After he got a strikeout to start the inning, he walked Andrew McCutchen. In a close game, walks will KILL YOU, and this one did for sure. Brad Miller popped out to Ozzie at second base for the second out of the inning, and then Phillies rookie, Luke Williams hit a two-run homer to walk it off for Philadelphia with final score of 2-1.

If Will Smith had not allowed the walk, Williams’ home run would’ve only been a solo shot and tied the game instead of ending it. That was a tough way for the Braves to lose the game, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Game Three: Ian Anderson vs. Zack Wheeler, Braves lost 4-3

Once again, this was a game that the Braves should have won, but in the end couldn’t pull the trigger.

Ian Anderson pitch extremely well for the Braves. He went seven scoreless innings, only allowing four hits and one walk. He also had a total of four strikeouts.

The Phillies were the first to score. They scored one on an RBI single by Jean Segura in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Braves tied the game on a solo home run by Freddie Freeman in the top of the ninth inning, making it 1-1. The Phillies offense came up empty in the bottom of the ninth inning so the game went to extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, the Braves scored two runs. All of their baserunners came via walks and the two runners that scored, scored on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

Remember… the new extra innings rule is that the last player to hit for each team is placed on second base to start the inning. That placed runner for the Phillies was Rafael Marchan. Alec Bohm had an RBI single for the Phillies to make it a 3-2 game and then Jean Segura walked the Phillies off on a walk-off single to make the final score 4-3.

Relief pitching really hurt the Braves in the last two games of this series. The relievers made too many pitches and hurt themselves with walks.

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Once again sorry for the delayed rap-up… still recovering from being out of town without cell service

Braves vs. Dodgers Series Wrap

It’s not every day that the Atlanta Braves take two out of three games in a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are the reigning World Series Champions. It’s always great to see the Braves beat such a good team like the Dodgers, but it was also great to see that Atlanta’s offense was able to hit and score off of two very good, well-known pitchers in games two and three of this series. The Braves’ bullpen pitching was SO MUCH better in games two and three… they started to look more like the Braves bullpen we are used too. The Braves lineup was electric in this series! The ENITRE lineup was able to get on base, score runs and keep that flowing. Overall it was a great series for the Braves in so many ways… maybe facing a “harder” team like the Dodgers was just what the doctor ordered for them!

Game One: Ian Anderson vs. Julio Urías, Braves lost 9-5

The main problem for the Braves in this games was walks. Walks will always, ALWAYS come back to haunt a pitcher. The Braves pitching staff gave up a total of eight walks in this game. Two of them were with the bases loaded, so runners scored.

Freddie Freeman started the game off with a BANG for the Braves! He had been in a major slump, walking more than he was hitting, and taking last minute swing on balls in the dirt at the plate. He hit a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the first inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.

Overall Ian Anderson did not have a bad start for the Braves, he just got into some fifth inning trouble which allowed LA to score and got Anderson out of the game. He pitched 4.1 innings, gave up one hit, four runs, and three walks. Ian also struck out six Dodger batters.

Following Ian Anderson, Sean Newcomb came on to pitch. He did not do well. He only retired one LA batter and gave up three runs. He didn’t give up any hits, because all of the runs he allowed came via walks. Grant Dayton came on and got the final out of the fifth inning for the Braves, but it didn’t do too much good because the Dodgers had already scored EIGHT runs on only three hits to make the score 8-1.

Like the Braves broadcaster Chip Carey says about the Braves , “They may not always win, but they always give you a finish.” That statement was very true for this game.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ender Inciarte led off with a single, which was followed by a four pitch walk to Ronald Acuña Jr. Freddie Freeman made the first out of the inning on a forceout which advanced Ender to third, but got Acuña out at second and left Freddie on first. Then, on the first pitch he saw, my man Ozzie Albies split the gap in center field for an two-RBI double and made the score 8-3. Ozzie has had so many of these doubles in the past couple of series for the Braves… he’s just that good! 😉 Austin Riley followed Ozzie’s double with a single and then after Pablo Sandoval struck out, Ehire Adrianza reached on a two base error that allowed both Ozzie and Riley to score, making it 8-5 Dodgers still on top.

The Dodgers scored one more run in the top of the ninth inning on a wild pitch by Tyler Matzek to make the final score of the game 9-5 Dodgers.

Game Two: Charlie Morton vs. Clayton Kershaw, Braves won 6-4

For Charlie Morton, this start started off sketchy. In the top of the first inning, after he hit Mookie Betts, Justin Turner reached base on an error by Austin Riley. Cody Bellinger advanced Betts on a force-out and then he scored on a pick-off error by Charlie Morton when he attempted to catch Bellinger too far off of first base. After that first inning he gave up three more runs, allowed one walk, four hits and had five strikeouts over a total of five innings. This wasn’t his best start, but did better than I expected he would after how his outing started.

The Braves took full advantage of Kershaw and it paid off. In the bottom of the third inning, Guillermo Heredia started the inning with a single. He was followed with two quick outs: one by the Braves catcher Kevin Smith, and the other by Charlie Morton. Acuña kept the inning alive with a rare walk from Clayton Kershaw. Freddie Freeman tied the game with an RBI single that scored Heredia, making it a 1-1 game. My man, Ozzie Albies extended the Braves lead with a two-RBI double giving the Braves the lead at 3-1. Dansby Swanson hit the final blow of that inning with another two-RBI double off Kershaw to make it 5-1 Braves!

The Dodgers made a game of it when they scored three right back in the top of the fourth making it a 5-4 game. That score was too close for comfort, and the Braves knew that. Abraham Almonte gave Atlanta a little more breathing room when he hit his first home run as a Brave in the bottom of the seventh inning. It was a solo shot, but when you’re in a close game against a good team like the Dodgers, every run you can get is huge. That homer gave the Braves a lead of 6-4.

The Braves’ bullpen was able to continue to hold the lead and carry them to a win to tie the series a one game a piece.

Game Three: Max Fried vs. Trevor Bauer, Braves won 4-2

It’s not every day a team scores a bunch of runs off of a well-known pitcher like Kershaw, but it’s even better when your team can go and beat two good pitchers in back to back games to win the series.

Max Fried pitched quite well for the Braves. He went six innings, gave up six hits but only allowed one run, had ZERO walks and four strikeouts. Fried had good control over the baseball and his balls-to-strikes ratio was great. He did work a few deep counts but nothing like he normally does.

The Braves started off the scoring in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Abraham Almonte that scored Dansby Swanson and gave them a 1-0 lead. They extended their lead in the bottom of the third inning on an RBI double by Ozzie Albies that scored Freddie Freeman, making it 2-0.

The Dodgers scored one in the top of the fourth, which was the only run Fried gave them to make it 2-1 Braves still on top.

Once again, the Braves extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Ender Inciarte and they scored again in the bottom of the eighth inning on a sac fly by Inciarte to make it 4-1 Braves.

The Dodgers got one run closer in the top of the ninth inning, but it wasn’t enough and the Braves held on to the win and won the series against their National League rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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Sorry for the late re-cap. I was out of town without cell service for the past 6 days.

Braves vs. Nationals Series Wrap

Overall it wasn’t a bad series. Both teams each one two games… the Braves had a very good chance of winning game three, but the bullpen blew that. Ozzie Albies had a great series. His bat is hot, and he is providing some big hits for the Atlanta Braves. Also, in game four of this series, Ozzie Albies and Dansby Swanson both reached a career milestone of 500 hits!

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Joe Ross, Braves won 5-3

The Braves pitching staff did very well in this game. Charlie Morton gave up the only three runs that the Washington Nationals scored, and the bullpen was lights out. Morton went five innings, allowed six hits, three runs, three walks, and had six strikeouts.

The Braves had a very productive first inning. Ronald Acuña Jr. led off with a single, followed by another walk by Freeman, and then Ozzie Albies followed Freeman with a walk. So the Braves had the bases loaded and no one out. Austin Riley lined out to make the first out of the inning, and then Dansby Swanson had a sac fly that allowed Acuña to score from third and give the Braves a 1-0 lead. Then, Abraham Almonte walked to once again reload the bases. Almonte was called up by the Braves to play left field. William Contreras had an RBI single that scored Freeman and Ozzie, making it 3-0 Braves.

The Braves scored again in the bottom of the second when Acuña hit his 16th home run of the season, making it 4-0 Braves. He crushed it into right center field, it was a no-doubter. After the Nationals scored their three runs in the top of the fourth inning, the Braves scored for the last time in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI single by Guillermo Heredia that allowed Dansby Swanson to score, making it 5-3 Braves.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Stephen Strasburg, Braves lost 11-6

Pitching was a problem for both teams throughout this game, but the Nationals bullpen was, in the end, better than the Braves’, which allowed them to ultimately win the game.

This was the first start since his return from the IL that Max Fried didn’t do very well. He only went 3.2 innings, allowed six hits, five runs, two walks, and he surprisingly had seven strikeouts. Over those 3.2 innings, Fried threw a total of 92 pitches- 64 of them were strikes. That proves his ball-to-strike ratio wasn’t bad, Max just didn’t have his best stuff and he never looked comfortable on the mound.

The Braves scored six runs. My man, Ozzie Albies had an RBI double in the bottom of the first that scored Ronald Acuña Jr. and tied the game at 1 a piece. Acuña hit his 17th home run of the season in the bottom of the fifth, which allowed Johan Camargo to score making the game 6-3, Nats on top.

The Braves had three more runs scattered around in this game, but the Nationals offense was more productive against Atlanta’s sketchy bullpen, which allowed them to win 11-6.

Game Three: Drew Smyly vs. Jon Lester, Braves lost 5-3… I was at this game!!

What a game this was for Ozzie Albies! Both offensively and defensively he was so impressive and he carried the team. Yes, the Braves lost, but it was still a good game… just would’ve been even better if the Braves could’ve held on and won.

Drew Smyly went 4.2 innings for the Braves. He gave up seven hits, three runs, two walks and he had six strikeouts. I wouldn’t say Smyly had a bad start, he just had some high-stress innings which drove his pitch count up and that’s what ultimately ended his night on the mound.

The Nationals started the scoring on an RBI single by their third baseman, Starlin Castro. The Braves came right back and tied the game in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Dansby Swanson. Swanson absolutely crushed this baseball to right center field… it was fun to watch!

In the top of the fifth inning, Juan Soto hit a two-run homer giving the Nationals the lead back at 3-1. That score remained until the seventh inning.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Abraham Almonte led off with a ground rule double. After Pablo Sandoval and Ronald Acuña Jr. both struck out, Freeman walked and then it was all up to my Ozzie Albies. Before this at-bat, Albies was 1-3 and he’d reached on an error. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Ozzie drove a pitch into the gap in center field for a two-RBI double making the score 3-3.

After Ozzie’s amazing, game-tying double in the bottom of the seventh, A.J. Minter came on to pitch the eighth inning for the Braves. He has struggled in his appearances from the bullpen over the last month, and that continued in this pitching appearance. He got the first two National batters out without any trouble at all, but after those two outs he gave up a solo home run to Washington’s catcher, Yan Gomes making it a 4-3 game late with the Nats on top.

Chris Martin came on to pitch the top of the ninth inning for the Braves. He is normally lights out, but he got into a little bit of trouble. Once again, the Braves bullpen pitcher got the first two batters no problem, but then Martin hit Victor Robles and then Robles stole second base to get into scoring position. Then, Trea Turner had an RBI single that scored Robles and made the score 5-3. The Nationals were able to hang on to that score and win the game.

One thing that I NEED to point out about this game is who provided most of the offense for the Braves. It wasn’t Ronald Acuña Jr, and it was not Freddie Freeman. Yes, Swanson hit a home run… but in the end it was Ozzie Albies. Ozzie was 2-4 and he reached on an error. His seventh inning hit was the biggest hit of the ENTIRE game. Acuña was 0-4 with two strikeouts, and Freeman was 0-3 with one strikeout. Ozzie is so underrated and deserves SO MUCH more credit than he gets. My man (Ozzie) was also very good defensively and made two great plays in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Another great thing about this game is that I was there in person! Cheering for Ozzie is my favorite pastime!

Game Four: Tucker Davidson vs. Patrick Corbin, Braves won 5-1

This was a monumental game for both Dansby Swanson, and Ozzie Albies who both reached 500 career hits in this series finale against the Washington Nationals.

Tucker Davidson came up from Triple-A Gwinnett for his second pitching appearance of the season and pitched very well once again. He allowed only one hit, zero runs, five walks, and five strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Five walks is a lot, but he was able to get out of any trouble that he had created himself.

Neither team scored through the first five innings of this game. The Braves however, got on the board first with a four-run frame in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ozzie Albies started the scoring of that inning with an RBI single that scored Acuña Jr., making it 1-0 Braves on top. Ozzie also advanced to second on a throwing error by the Nationals left fielder Josh Harrison. Austin Riley followed Ozzie with a first pitch double that allowed Ozzie to score making it 2-0 Atlanta. Then, Dansby Swanson was up to bat. After working a full count, Swanson launched a home run into left center field. That home run not only gave the Braves a 4-0 lead, but it was also Dansby’s 500th hit of his career!

The Atlanta Braves scored their fifth and final run on an RBI double by Ozzie in the bottom of the seventh inning making it 5-0 Braves. That double was Ozzie’s 500th career hit! He and Dansby both reached a very big mark in their career… and they did it in the same game!!

The Nationals scored their one and only run in the top of the ninth inning on an RBI single by their catcher, Alex Avila, to make the final score 5-1 Braves!

Braves vs. Mets Series Wrap

Well, this wasn’t much of a series. With games one a three both postponed due to weather conditions, it turned into a one game series. The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves will have two makeup games in different doubleheaders. One will be on June 21st and the other on July 26th.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Taijuan Walker, Braves lost 13-2

For only one game to be played in this series, this is definitely not how anyone in Braves country wanted to go.

Ian Anderson did not have his best stuff. His balls-to-strikes ratio was good, the Mets were just able to hit his pitches. He didn’t always hit his spots, which left his pitches out over the plate. Anderson pitched only four complete innings. He started the fifth inning, but could not retire a batter. He allowed seven hits and four runs. He did have six strikeouts and only one walk, which proves that his pitch ratio was good. In the end, the Mets offense just took advantage of him.

The Braves offense was very quiet. Unlike the Mets against Ian Anderson, the Braves could not hit off of Walker let alone much against their bullpen. The Braves scored one run in the top of the sixth inning on a wild pitch which scored Guillermo Heredia. The other was scored in the top of the eighth inning on an RBI single by my man Ozzie Albies! Those two runs were the only runs scored by the Atlanta Braves in this game.

Ian Anderson may have had a frustrating start, but the final blow was ultimately surrendered by the Braves bullpen. Atlanta’s bullpen gave up a combined total of six hits, two walks, and five runs. Three of those hits were home runs. Honestly, the Braves bullpen is hit or miss. Some nights they come out and pitch very well like we’re used too. Other nights they do not have good stuff at all, and give up too many runs. They need to find balance and to be able to come out of the bullpen, in a close game, and not allow any traffic on the bases, runs, or high stress pitches. If they can do that, they will have much more success out of the bullpen!

Braves vs. Red Sox Series Wrap

Injuries have shown to be quite a problem for the Braves. They are now without Marcell Ozuna, who fractured two fingers on his left hand while sliding into third base in game one of this series. The Braves say it will take around six weeks for him to be able to come back and play. Ozuna may not have the strongest arm in the outfield, but he has big-time power at the plate that has been a huge bonus for the Braves in the lineup with him hitting behind Freddie Freeman. Braves’ manager, Brain Snitker, will now have to adjust his lineup in order to fill Ozuna’s gap while he is unable to play.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Garrett Richards, Braves won 3-1

Charlie Morton pitched extremely well for the Braves. He got off to a shaky start in the first inning, but was able to calm down, and pitch a gem for the rest of the game. Morton went seven innings, he allowed only three hits, one run, two walks, and he had nine strikeouts… nine! Charlie started off slow with Atlanta, but he seems to have gotten into his groove and has been giving the Braves good quality starts.

The Red Sox kept their 1-0 lead until the top of the third inning. William Contreras started off the inning with a walk, which was followed by a lineout of Acuña. Freddie Freeman came on with one out and had a first pitch single. Marcell Ozuna followed Freeman with an RBI single to tie the game at 1 apiece. Ozzie Albies followed Ozuna’s single with a fielders choice that scored Freeman giving the Braves the lead at 2-1. Marcell Ozuna was tagged out at third base to make the second out of the inning and that slide also led to his injury that I mentioned earlier. It’s going to be a huge difference not having him in the Braves lineup… especially since Ozuna was starting to look like the Marcell Ozuna the Braves had in the 2020 season.

The Braves scored their third and final run on an RBI double by Ronald Acuña Jr in the top of the sixth inning. Pablo Sandoval was the baserunner who scored for the Braves; he had reached base on a single. That run made it 3-1 Braves. It was good to see the Braves score without hitting a home run. The Braves lead ALL of Major League baseball in home runs. They have hit a grand total of 80… so far!

Game Two: Drew Smyly vs. Nick Pivetta, Braves lost 9-5

Rain delay games are never fun. I’m sure for players it’s hard to keep their momentum after having to be contained inside for a long period of time.

Drew Smyly started off pitching well for the Braves, giving up only three runs through the first five innings he had pitched. But he fell apart in the sixth inning. He lost his command and had baserunners everywhere. Then Luke Jackson was brought on in relief and he had a mess to get out of and eventually couldn’t.

The Braves started the scoring with a RBI triple by my man, Ozzie Albies, which gave the Braves a 1-0 lead, and then Dansby Swanson scored him on an RBI double to make it 2-0 after the top of the first. The Braves scored again in the top of the second on a sac fly by William Contreras to make it 3-o Braves. And then, in the top of the fifth inning, Austin Riley hit a solo home run making it 4-3 Braves on top.

After the Red Sox blew it open in the bottom the sixth inning and the rain delay, it was a 7-4 game, Sox on top. The Red Sox added onto their lead again in the bottom of the eighth inning on an error by Swanson that allowed a runner to score, and a sac fly that allowed another Red Sox runner to score, extending their lead to 9-4.

The Braves got one run closer on a solo home run by William Contreras in the top of the ninth to make it 9-5, but it ultimately wasn’t enough and the Red Sox held on for the win and a split series.

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The Braves need some help… and they need it as soon as possible! Their starting pitching has improved quite a bit, but the bullpen still has some problems to be fixed. Hopefully when Shane Greene is ready to come up from Triple-A Gwinnett, that will add more stability in the bullpen. However, injuries are killing us. Injuries will happen, but the Braves have been hit with a ton of injuries that hurt a lot and have a long recovery time. Surely they will figure out something soon and get into a good groove!