Category: Series Wrap Up

Braves vs. Phillies Series Wrap

After this series with the Philadelphia Phillies and the previous series against the Washington Nationals, the Atlanta Braves are starting to look more and more like the Braves are finally getting their stuff together.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Zach Eflin, Braves lost 12-2

Charlie Morton, a pitcher who, so far this season, had been very effective and constant for the Braves had a faltering start in this game. He didn’t even complete a single inning. In the top of the first inning, he went through the entire Phillies lineup. He retired the first batter he saw, and then after a failed strikeout, things went downhill from there. He gave up a walk to Harper and then a single to Realmuto to load the bases with Phillies runners. It didn’t take the Phillies long to cash in some runs. Alec Bohm had an RBI single to score one and then, after Didi Gregorius popped out to Ozzie Albies, Jean Segura had a two RBI single to make it 3-0 Phillies. Then, to add to their lead, Phillies center fielder, Odubel Herrera hit a three-run home run to straight away center field. That made the score, 6-0 Phillies. And that was the final blow for Charlie Morton. The Phillies continued to score again and again, bringing their final run total to 12.

The Braves scored two runs. One came on a solo home run by Dansby Swanson in the bottom of the second inning, and the other on a RBI single by Ronald Acuña Jr. in the bottom of the fifth which scored Dansby Swanson. After coming home from a wining road trip, I didn’t expect the Braves to do much scoring, but I never thought we’d see this.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Vince Velasquez, Braves won 8-7

If you like intense, nail-biter baseball games, this was the game for you. Once again, the Phillies scored first and early. They scored two in the first, and one in the second. After giving up those runs early, Ian Anderson pitched very well. It just took him a couple innings to get into his groove. Anderson went six innings giving up three runs, six hits, three walks and he had seven strikeouts.

The Braves didn’t score until Freddie Freeman hit a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to make it a 3-1 game. However, they had multiple chances to score, not to mention my man Ozzie Albies had a triple in the bottom of the fourth inning, but they failed to bring him in.

Ronald Acuña Jr., the Braves young stud, was up to bat in the bottom of the second inning. Sam Coonrod was pitching for the Phillies. The first pitched he threw Acuña was in, off the plate, and almost hit him. The very next pitch that Coonrod threw drilled Ronald on the hand. He immediately left the game, looking to be in much pain. Ehire Adrianza came in to pinch run and play right field for Acuña.

Going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Braves still trailed the Phillies 3-1. Things didn’t look good for Atlanta. After two quick outs, Adrianza reached base on a walk. And then, Pablo Sandoval came off the bench and down to his last strike, TIED THE GAME on an absolute missile over the Braves’ bullpen. Panda has more than come through for the Braves. That home run was his fourth pinch hit home run for the Braves… his FOURTH!! Now, it was time for the Braves to have an extra inning win. Neither team scored in the bottom of the tenth inning.

Alright, here’s where things get intense — and where my mom can’t handle the stress! With the new extra innings rule, a runner automatically placed on second base, even more pressure is put on the pitcher from the get-go. A.J. Minter pitched the eleventh inning for the Braves. He got two strikeouts to the first two batters he saw, and then gave up a run scoring double to Phillies’ second baseman Nick Maton to make it a 4-3 game with the Phillies on top. The nice thing about the extra inning runner on second base, is that it applies to both teams. With the runner on second base, Ehire Adrianza reached base on a throwing error by Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius which allowed him to not only reach base, but for Christian Pache to score from second base. That tied the game 4-4. It’s now the twelfth inning. Jacob Webb replaced Minter on the mound. He gave up a single and a sac bunt to the first two batters he saw, and then gave up the lead on which should have been an easy out. Bryce Harper was up to bat and hit a dribbler in front of the pitchers mound. Instead of going to cover home plate to prevent runners from scoring, Webb decided to try and field the ball himself. That left no one covering home plate and allowed the Phillies to score two. They also scored one more on a RBI single to J.T. Realmuto to make it 7-4 Phillies on top.

Thing didn’t look good for the Braves, again, but did they give up? The answer to that question is, no! The Braves led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a walk to Austin Riley and then a single by Dansby Swanson. That loaded the bases for the Braves. (Ozzie Albies was already on second to start the inning because of the extra inning rule.) With no one out, William Contreras was up to bat. On the second pitch he saw, he lined a base hit to left filed. It was a BASES CLEARING DOUBLE to tie the game at 7-7!! Pache came to hit and had a sac bunt to get Contreras to third, and the Adrianza, who came in the game for Acuña after he got hit, had a walk off single. The Braves won 8-7 on their first extra innings win of the year!!! These are the games that make me LOVE baseball!

Game Three: Huascar Ynoa vs. Aaron Nola, Braves won 6-1

What could be a better way to end off Mother’s Day and the series against the Phillies than a Braves win? Well, that’s exactly what the Braves did! Like the other two games of the series, the Phillies scored first and early on a solo home run by their left fielder Andrew McCutchen to give them a 1-0 lead. It was unlike Ynoa to give up a run early, but that was the only run he would give up for his entire outing.

After being hit in the hand last night, I wasn’t sure if Acuña would be “okay” enough to play in this game. But he was in the lineup so the Braves weren’t too concerned about his hand after his scare the night before. He led off the game with a walk, and stole a base which proved that his hand wasn’t too much of a concern. Freddie Freeman singled, which allowed Acuña to score and tie the game at 1-1. After a one-pitch groundout from Marcell Ozuna, Ozzie Albies tripled to score Freddie Freeman and give the Braves the lead. That was the second triple of the series for my man and they came on back-to-back nights! Ozzie’s bat has really started to come to life and it’s great to see the energy he brings on the base pads. After Austin Riley struck out, Dansby Swanson, on the first pitch he saw, hit a two-run homer to make it a 4-1 Braves game, with the Braves on top. The Braves scored two more runs after their very productive first inning. One came on a solo home run by Freddie Freeman in the bottom of the third, and the other on a double by Austin Riley in the eighth which scored Ozzie.

The Braves have really started to come through in games, not only offensively but on the mound as well. The bullpen has started maintaining a lead, and starters are going longer. With the Braves winning the last game of this series with the Phillies, they are now at 500, with a record of 17-17.

Braves vs. Nationals Series Wrap

A sweep! The Braves swept the Nationals!! Man, it was good to see a series where the Braves looked more like the Atlanta team that we are used to. The pitching was much better, they were good offensively through the entire lineup, even the pitchers spot, and the bullpen was able to come into the game with a lead and keep it.

Game One: Huascar Ynoa vs. Joe Ross, Braves won 6-1

What a game. If you weren’t a “fan” of Ynoa before this game, I can almost guarantee you are now! In this game, Ynoa’s performance on the mound was, once again, very impressive. He had great command over his pitch count and his balls to strikes ratio — pretty much everything we have come to expect out of him, he came through. The first four innings of the game was what looked like to be the making of a good old fashioned pitchers’ duel. That all changed when Ronald Acuña Jr. hit a solo home run to center field in the bottom of the fifth to give the Braves a 1-0 lead. After his homer, the Braves offense was just getting started. In the top of the sixth inning, after a line-out of Ozuna, my man, Ozzie Albies got on base with a one-out single. After his single, the Nationals went to their bullpen. Tanner Rainey was now on the mound for them. He started off great with a one pitch line-out of Austin Riley. However, things went downhill for him from there. With two outs, Dansby Swanson was intentionally walked, and then William Contreras had an RBI single to score Ozzie Albies and gave the Braves a 2-0 lead. After that, Christian Pache reached base on a walk. Two outs. Bases loaded. And Huascar Ynoa is at the plate. Can you guess what happened?!? On the second pitch he saw, Ynoa hit a GRAND SLAM to straight away center. A GRAND SLAM! Can you believe it?? Our pitcher hit a grand slam!! Honestly, I’m still in shock. That grand slam was his first career grand slam and his second home run in his very young career. Oh, not to mention his two homers have come in back to back games. He continued in the game for another two innings and only gave up one Nationals run on a RBI ground out to Kyle Schwarber. The Braves held on to win, 6-1!

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Eric Fedde, Braves won 5-3

Max Fried is finally back! And in this start he looked much more like the Max Fried we are accustomed to. He went five innings giving up only four hits and one run, and he struck out six Nationals hitters and only allowed one walk. Hopefully, Fried can keep this streak up.

The Braves bats are *finally* starting to come to life! In the top of the third inning, Contreras lead off with a single. Then after two straight outs, Acuña and Freeman both walked. Bases loaded, two outs. Marcell Ozuna was up to bat and he went long ball!! He hit a grand slam to right field to give the Braes a 4-0 lead early agains the Nationals again. Man, the Braves really have something working right now. That was their second grand slam in back to back games and the FOURTH one hit all season. William Contreras also got in on the home run fun in this game, when he hit his first career homer in the top of the fourth inning. It was a long solo-shot to center field to make it a 5-0 Braves lead. In the bottom of the fourth the Nationals scored one on a solo home run by Yan Gomes to make it a 5-1 game. That score remained until the bottom of the eight inning when Trea Turner hit a two run home run off of Josh Tomlin to make it a 5-3 game late. However, A.J. Minter came in to get the two remaining outs of the eighth inning, and he did his job without giving up another run. Will Smith came on to pitch the ninth inning for the Braves. He did his job perfectly. Three up, three down. He even got Juan Soto to ground out, which was nice to see considering Soto had a walk-off against him earlier in the season.

Game Three: Drew Smyly vs. John Lester, Braves

This was the start from Drew Smyly that all of Braves country, the Braves coaching staff, and I’m sure Smyly himself were all waiting for. He pitched six innings of four hit, one run ball. He also limited the walks in this game; he only had four, which is still quite a few but he had less than normal and he pitched more innings. He was doing so well, he actually made it into the seventh inning, but Snitker took him out after he walked the first batter he saw that inning. It made me mad that Snitker took him out. I mean, yeah he walked the first batter he faced that inning, but I think he was too quick to take him out of the game. He could at least let him stay in and at try and get through the inning. This seems to be Snitker’s MO right now, and it can be frustrating.

Anyways, the Braves won, and that’s all that really matters. The Braves did not hit a home run in this game but went back to a sense of “old school” baseball. They scored all three of their runs in the third inning. One on a RBI double by Marcell Ozuna that scored Acuña, and the other two came on a two-RBI single by Ehire Adrianza that scored my man, Ozzie and Ozuna. The Nationals scored one in the bottom of the fourth on a double by Kyle Schwarber that scored Josh Bell. They didn’t score another run until the bottom of the eighth inning, when Yan Gomes had a RBI single to make the game 3-2. The Braves bullpen held onto the lead, and the Braves completed the sweep of the Washington Nationals!

One thing to note about the third game of this series is: Freddie Freeman was not in the lineup. I’m sure Snitker was just giving him the day off to “regain himself” since he hasn’t been doing very well at the plate lately. He has also already made two errors this season which is unlike him. However, I’m sure he will be back to the good old MVP Freddie Freeman we have all gotten used too soon.

Braves vs Blue Jays Series Wrap

Photo by Steshka Willems on Pexels.com

Well, the Blue Jays have been a good team so far this year, and they proved it with a series sweep against the Braves. Injuries have continued to be a very concerning problem for Atlanta. Not to mention the starting rotation needs to become more consistent — along with the bullpen. Hopefully, when Fried and Soroka return (crossing my fingers that it’s sooner than later), the rotation problems will dwindle down. Injuries, we all know, will happen. The Braves have just had an extremely high amount for the first month of the season.

Game One: Drew Smyly vs. Robbie Ray, Braves lost 13-5

After hitting a ton against the Cubs, the Braves bats were not as lively in this game. Smyly’s pitching problems continued in this game. He has a tough time controlling the strike zone and giving up multiple long balls. In just four innings of work, he pitched into the fifth inning but could not retire a Blue Jay batter. He gave up seven hits, six runs, and three home runs. He threw a total of 84 pitches in those few innings of work. Only 46 of them were strikes. His command so far has proven to be his biggest problem along with getting batters out after he gets them to two strikes. The Braves did have a home run of their own. That was courtesy of my man, Ozzie Albies! He hit an absolute bomb in the top of the seventh inning to left center. It went a total of 424 feet and gave the game a score of Toronto 10, Braves 2. The Blue Jays however, kept scoring. Their bats were hot and stayed hot throughout the entire game (and series). They scored three more after Ozzie’s home run, and the Braves scored three more in the top of the eighth on RBI singles to bring the final score of the game to 13-5 with the Blue Jays on top.

Game Two: Charlie Morton vs. Blue Jays Bullpen, Braves lost 6-5

If you told me that Christian Pache would hit a grand slam in his first at-bat in his first game back after being on the injured list, I don’t think I would’ve believed you. But guess what, he did it! After three straight Braves singles to load the bases in the top of the second inning, with two outs, Pache came up to the plate and gave the Braves a huge second inning lead of 4-0. This was Pache’s first career grand slam, and it left the field in left center. That was a very exciting way for him to return and for the Braves to start the game!

But of course…Pitching, pitching, and pitching. That is something the Braves need to figure out. Morton has been the consistent guy on the mound for most of the season for Atlanta. Today wasn’t awful for him, but he wasn’t as “on top” of his game like we have gotten used to seeing. He gave up five runs in 5.1 innings of work. He didn’t qualify for a win, or ultimately the loss. In the top of the fifth inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. went long-ball again with an absolute missile over the left field wall. Man, this kid’s got some serious power!

Injuries. The Braves have gotten hit with the injury bug big time in the early days of the 2021 season. They had another one in this game, and it happened to Braves catcher, Travis d’Arnaud. In the bottom of the sixth inning, on a bad base running play by the Blue Jays’ center fielder, Randal Grichuk, he was thrown out at home plate on a relay throw from Marcell Ozuna to Dansby Swanson to d’Arnaud at the plate. Something happened to Travis’ thumb on his catching hand when he tagged out Grichuk at the plate. Obvioulsy that isn’t good for someone who has to catch 150+ baseballs almost every single day. He was taken out of the game and is now on the Braves 60-day IL with a torn thumb ligament. What a loss! Game 2 remained tied, so it went into extra innings. So far this season, the Braves have not done well in extra-inning games. They have only won one, and that didn’t come in this game. It was the bottom of the tenth inning, game is tied 5-5, and Nate Jones was on to pitch for the Braves. He started out well, retiring the first batter he saw and then, after an intentional walk to Vlad Guerrero Jr., he got a force out. Two men out, one more to get. But that didn’t happen. The next batter he faced, Randal Grichuk, had an RBI, game winning single. The Blue Jays won 6-5.

Game Three: Ian Anderson vs. Ryan Borucki, Braves lost 7-2

Ugh. Another Braves loss. Once again, the Braves started out looking like the game was going to go in their favor. William Contreras started off the second inning for the Braves with an RBI single, which scored my man Ozzie Albies, who reached base on a double. That 1-0 lead didn’t last long. The Blue Jays tied it in the bottom of the second, and they kept scoring from there. Anderson only went four innings. He gave up six hits, four runs, and three walks. Then it was up to the Braves’ bullpen. In the top of the fifth inning, Acuña hit a sac fly to score the second (and final) Braves run of the game.

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Sometimes it just gets down-right hard to come up with something to say when you have to talk about a Braves loss. Again. On paper everything looks great for Atlanta. They have a good lineup, there’s no doubt about that. The main problems are 1) the Braves players can’t stay consistent in the positive. You will have some games where the whole lineup can’t stop hitting, and the others where they can hardly make any contact with the ball at all. 2) They have had too many injuries, and some of them are coming back to bite big time. And 3) Pitching. Pitching is a HUGE component of any baseball game, and if your starters can’t go at least five to six innings, that puts a ton of pressure on your bullpen and requires more work from them. The pitching is what is showing to be the biggest problem for the Braves. Hopefully, once Max Fried comes back, it will add more depth to the rotation and the Braves will start wining games more consistently.

Braves vs. Cubs Series Wrap

Photo by Steshka Willems on Pexels.com

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!