Tag: Baseball

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.

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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. 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!

Braves vs. Mets Series Wrap

Whew. Series like this can be tough to watch. At least the Braves avoided a sweep. The Braves need serious bullpen help… and they need it now. Until the Braves can provide some much needed pitching consistency, it is going to be very tough for them to win games. If your bullpen cannot preserve a late inning lead- especially a close lead- your team is going to have a much harder time coming back to tie the game let alone come back and win it.

Game One: Max Fried vs. Taijuan Walker, Braves lost 3-1

Fried pitched very well for the Braves. He went six innings allowing five hits, one run, only gave up two walks, and he had eight strikeouts. Fried starting the top of the seventh inning but had to leave the game with a left hand (his pitching hand) cramp. The one positive thing about Fried’s exit was that he wasn’t seriously hurt. He was mainly taken out because it was giving him discomfort and the Braves could not afford another serious injury to a pitcher… especially a starting pitcher.

The Mets started the scoring after Fried was taken out. Before his exit he gave up a leadoff double to Tomas Nido and then Jacob Webb came on in relief of Max Fried. Webb has had some sketchy outings for the Braves. However, I will give him some credit, in the midst of those sketchy outings, he has had some decent outings. This one was not one of those rare outings. He gave up an RBI double to the first batter he saw (James McCann) which scored Nido and gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. After a sac bunt by Johneshwy Fargas, Webb gave up a walk to Fransisco Lindor. Lindor stole second base as well. In the following AB, Webb struck out Pete Alonso, and then Dominic Smith was intentionally walked. That loaded the bases with Mets runners. There are now two out, and the bases are loaded. And what does Jacob Webb do? He hits Kevin Pillar smack in the face with the pitch. Obviously it was not intentional in the slightest. Pillar was able to walk off the field but he was bloody and definitely in pain. Webb was seriously shaken up, so Brian Snitker did the right thing and took him out of the game. Following Jacob Webb, Sean Newcomb came on to pitch and he got the final out of the inning, leaving the bases loaded with Mets, and the score at 2-0 Mets on top.

Sean Newcomb stayed in the game and pitched the top of the eighth inning for the Braves. He got Jose Peraza out to start the inning, gave up a single to Tomas Nido, got another out from Jake Hager on a wild pitch which allowed Nido to advance to second, and then Newcomb gave up a double to Johneshwy Fargas that made it 3-0 Mets. Following that, he gave up a walk to Lindor and then got the final out of the inning on a pop out by Pete Alonso.

In the bottom of the eighth inning Austin Riley put the Braves on the board with a colossal home run to right center field. That made the game 3-1, Mets still on top.

That was the final score of the game because the Braves offense could not produce in the bottom of the ninth inning. Once again, the Braves bullpen did not keep the shut out and could not limit the run damage to one run.

Game Two: Tucker Davidson vs. Miguel Castro, Braves lost 4-3

Tucker Davidson made his 2021 debut for the Braves. He pitched considerably well given how good the Mets are this season. He went six innings, allowed five hits, gave up three runs, one walk, and had five strikeouts. The Braves have had injuries to the starting rotation, so it was nice to see that a young guy like Davidson could come up from Triple-A Gwinnett and give the Braves a quality outing. The only two blemishes on his performance was a two run homer by Jonathan Villar, and a sac fly in the top of the sixth by Pete Alonso. Other than that he was very good on the mound.

The Braves scored their first run of the night in the bottom of the fifth inning on a solo home run to right center field by Austin Riley. Right now, Riley has been the hottest hitter for the Braves. He is hitting the baseball to all fields, getting on base constantly, and providing some needed offense for the Braves. They scored their second run in the bottom of the sixth inning on a solo home run by Freddie Freeman, making the score 3-2. The Braves were getting closer. And then, in the bottom of the eighth inning, Marcell Ozuna tied the game at 3-3 with an RBI single that scored Ehire Adrianza.

Okay, top of the ninth inning… tied ballgame. Will Smith comes on to pitch for the Braves. He gets the first two batters out with no problem. Then he gives up a solo home run to Tomas Nido, making it a 4-3 game with the Mets on top. Once again, in a tied game, the Braves bullpen could not maintain the tie.

In the bottom of the ninth inning the Braves could not come up with any late inning offense, therefore the Mets took game two with a final score of 4-3.

Game Three: Charlie Morton vs. David Peterson, Braves won 5-4

This game was intense in the late innings. Both teams scored runs late, and ultimately the Braves came out on top.

Charlie Morton pitched quite well for the Braves. He went six innings, only allowed two hits, and one run. Oh, and he also had NO walks and eight strikeouts. The one run he allowed came on a solo home run by Jonathan Villar in the top of the fourth inning.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Braves looked a little bit more like the offensive team we are used to seeing. After Ozzie Albies grounded out to start the inning, Austin Riley had a double to center field. Dansby Swanson also had a groundout to make the second out of the inning, and then following him, William Contreras was hit by a pitch. Guillermo Heredia had a first pitch single that scored Riley and advanced Contreras to second. Then Charlie Morton got in on the fun and had a first-pitch-single also. He hit it to center field and it scored Contreras. Morton smoked that ball, and it paid off! His single made it a 2-1 Braves lead. Ronald Acuña Jr. walked on a wild pitch, and taking advantage of the wild pitch, Heredia scored making it 3-1 Braves on top.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Braves had the bases loaded with two outs. It was Charlie Morton’s at-bat. Brian Snitker knew how well Morton was pitching, but ultimately made the decision to take Charlie Morton out and go for an offensive approach by brining Pablo Sandoval on to try and bring in more Atlanta runs. Sandoval had a line out, which did not allow the Braves to score any more runs.

I get why Snitker took Charlie Morton out and replaced him with Sandoval, I really do. He knew how well Morton was pitching, but with a close score and the Braves’ bullpen being as unstable as it is, he was looking for more run support. However, that did not happen. But, you can’t put a player back in after you’d already taken him out, so it was what it was.

Coming into the top of the seventh inning, the Braves still had the lead at 3-1. A.J. Minter was up to pitch for the Braves. He started the inning with a quick two outs, but then he got into some trouble. Minter had a two-base throwing error to get Dominic Smith on base. He then gave up a four pitch walk to James McCann, and then Jose Peraza had a RBI double that scored Smith and made it a 3-2 game. That run was unearned because of the error by Minter. As if the Mets hadn’t beaten up on the Braves enough, Tomas Nido had a two RBI single which gave the Mets the lead again at 4-3. It’s so frustrating to see the Braves’ starting pitcher do so well, the offense provide a lead, and then for the bullpen to go and blow it.

Although the bullpen blew a lead again, the Braves did tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. William Contreras had a RBI single that scored Austin Riley and made it a 4-4 game.

Bottom of the ninth inning. Tied ballgame. Aaron Loup was put back in the game to pitch the ninth inning for the Mets (he pitched the eighth inning for the Mets, too).

Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the bottom of the ninth inning for the Braves. On the FIRST PITCH he saw, Acuña hit his first career walk-off home run sending the Braves home with a 5-4 win!

It was so good to see the Braves be able to, first of all, avoid a sweep, but also be able to come back from behind in the late innings, and win the game. Hopefully they can keep that trend up, and the bullpen will figure itself out, soon!

Braves vs. Brewers Series Wrap

For a brief road trip, winning two out of the three games played was nice. I’m sure the Braves would have no doubt been happier with a sweep, but at least they won the series. They could’ve had a chance to win all three games (we’ll discuss that in a little bit) but unfortunately, the bullpen stumbled… again.

Game One: Drew Smyly vs. Adrian Houser, Braves won 6-3

As expected, after his ankle injury in the previous game, Ronald Acuña Jr. was not in the lineup for the Braves. They played Marcell Ozuna (like always) in left field, Ehire Adrianza in right field, and Ender Inciarte made his return from the injured list in center field.

Drew Smyly pitched very well for the Braves in this start. He went six innings, giving up only four hits, one run, and one walk. He also had four strikeouts. It looked like Drew felt more comfortable on the mound. He also had great command of his pitch count and of the strike zone. Hopefully, he can keep that up and provide some needed solidity to the Braves’ starting rotation.

The Brewers started the scoring in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Luis Urias. The Braves came right back and scored two in the top of the third inning on a single by Austin Riley, which was deflected off of Brewers’ starting pitcher, Adrian Houser, which allowed Ozuna and Dansby Swanson to score, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead.

In the top of the fifth inning, on the first pitch he saw, Marcell Ozuna hit a solo home run to straight away center to give the Braves a 3-1. He SMOKED that baseball! Not to take any attention away from Ozuna, but the very next batter, Ozzie Albies, after working a full count, also hit a solo home run to straight away center. YAYY!! It was an absolute BOMB. It went 429 feet, and extended the Braves lead to 5-1. Ozuna and Albies went back-to-back for the first time this season for the Braves. The Braves also scored one more on an RBI single by Ender Inciarte in the top of the eighth to make it 6-1, Braves on top.

The bullpen pitched very well and effectively for the Braves, until the bottom of the ninth inning. Josh Tomlin started the inning for the Braves. He gave up to solo home runs to the first two batters he faced, making it a 6-3 game. That definitely brought some un-needed suspense into the bottom of the ninth. He retired one batter, and then Brian Snitker went to the bullpen to get Will Smith. Smith did his job and kept the Brewers right there, allowing the Braves to win 5-3.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Brett Anderson, Braves won 5-1

Ian Anderson pitched AMAZING for the Braves in this game! He pitched six hitless and scoreless innings for the Braves. He started to pitch the seventh but gave up a single and a double without retiring a batter, and his pitch count was the highest it had ever been in his career (110 pitches), so Brian Snitker took him out. He ended up getting charged one run, that A.J. Minter allowed to score in relief of Anderson. It was very nice to see Anderson have dominance on the mound and pitch as well as he did.

The Braves backed up Anderson’s start by scoring early. They started the scoring off on a RBI double by Ozzie Albies (yay!) which allowed Freddie Freeman to score and advanced Marcell Ozuna to third in the top of the first. Not to mention, it gave the Braves a 1-0 lead! My man has done great so far in this series against the Brewers, and his bat is starting to come to life. The Braves score another run in the top of the first on a sac fly by Dansby Swanson which allowed Ozuna to score.

If you are like me, and follow all of the Braves stats and memorable moments that could possibly happen during the 2021 season, then you would know that coming into this game Freddie Freeman was sitting on 249 career home runs. He finally did it! Freeman hit his 250th career home run, a two-run shot to left center field. He extended the Braves lead to 4-0, and became just the sixth Braves player of all time to reach that monumental goal in his Major League career. Congratulations, Freddie!

The Brewers scored one run, which, like I mentioned earlier, was charged to Ian Anderson, in the bottom of the seventh inning on a sac fly by Brewers’ shortstop Luis Urias.

The Braves scored one more, and final run in the top of the eighth inning on a solo home run to straight away center by William Contreras. That made it a 5-1 Braves lead.

The Braves bullpen came through and didn’t let the Brewers offense score more than the one run they scored in the seventh.

Game Three: Huascar Ynoa vs. Freddy Peralta, Braves lost 10-9

Woah, what a game. After the start that this game had, I honestly did not see the Braves coming even close to a comeback. But, they proved me wrong and looked much more like the relentless Braves team we are used to seeing. It would’ve been even better if they came back and won, but that ultimately did not happen.

This was the first start that we have seen Ynoa start where he didn’t do as well on the mound. Not to mention he did not have a hit this game! Ynoa gave up nine hits, five runs, and two walks in only 4.1 innings of work. He did have six strikeouts, but he just wasn’t as put together on the mound for the Braves in this game. The bullpen didn’t do him too much help in relief either. Following his exit, they gave up three more runs giving the Brewers an 8-0 lead.

Okay… going into the top of the seventh inning, the Atlanta Braves are down 8-0. That is a huge run differential, but the Braves did not let that lead intimidate them! After a flyout of Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson singled and then his hit was followed by a four pitch walk to Austin Riley. Both Swanson and Riley advanced on the base pads on a wild pitch by Brewers pitcher J.P. Feyereisen. Following the wild pitch, William Contreras also reached base on a walk. Ender Inciarte had a two-RBI single following the walk to Contreras getting the Braves on the board making it 8-2.

The Brewers went deeper into their bullpen, replacing Feyereisen with Brent Suter. Keep in mind that their bullpen has yet to retire a Braves batter this inning.

Pablo Sandoval greeted the new pitcher with a first pitch fielder’s choice, he reached base safely. Ehire Adrianza followed Sandoval with another fielder’s choice, no one got out again because of a throwing error by Brewers’ shortstop Luis Urias. It also allowed William Contreras to score making it a 8-3 game. Not to mention, after the error, the Braves still had the bases loaded with one out.

Freddie Freeman was up with the bases loaded. On the very first pitch he saw, Freeman clobbered that baseball to straight away center field for a GRAND SLAM. That was the third grand slam Freeman has ever hit in his major league career. Two of those grand slams came in last year’s shortened season. His first two came within two days of each other against the same team, the Washington Nationals. He hit his third grand slam, his 251st career home run, and got the Braves back in the game making it a 8-7 Brewers lead… all in the same at bat. That made it a COMPLETELY different ballgame from that point forward.

However, once again, the Braves bullpen stumbled in the late innings. Josh Tomlin started the bottom of the seventh inning for the Braves. He gave up a lead off, four-pitch walk, got a flyout, and then gave up a one pitch single to Kolten Wong. Brian Snitker did not let him continue any longer and went even deeper into the Braves bullpen, getting Sean Newcomb. Instead of getting the Braves out of a mess, Newcomb hit the first batter he saw, and then gave up a two run single giving the Brewers an extended lead of 10-7. It’s disappointing to see your team’s bullpen blow a close game after your team worked SO hard getting the team back in the game, and when you know that your team is more than capable of scoring more runs. This is a problem that the Braves are going to have to do something about.

The Braves offense put up a fight ’til the end. They scored one run in the top of the eighth on another fielder’s choice by William Contreras, and there was yet another throwing error by Luis Urias, which allowed Dansby Swanson to score making it 10-8. In the top of the ninth inning, the Braves plated another run on a sac fly by Dansby Swanson which scored Freddie Freeman. That was the last run they earned, making the final score 10-9 Brewers on top.

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Yes, it would’ve been nice if the Braves could have come back and won the game, and if their bullpen could preserve a score. But another disappointing and frustrating thing happened in game three of this series. Huascar Ynoa didn’t have his best start. That was made clear. He did not pitch as many innings, he gave up more runs than he normally does, and he didn’t have a hit at the plate. I’m sure the Braves coaching staff was disappointed with his start, but at the end of the day, they know that one player can’t be perfect all the time. Ynoa was also very frustrated with his performance, and he let his frustration out. He punched the bench in the Braves dugout, and as a result of that, he broke his right hand. He is now going to be out for at least two months just to let his hand heal, and then his strength is going to have to be built back up.

I’m sure Huascar is regretting his decision about punching the bench. The Braves needed Ynoa so much. They are already without Mike Soroka, who most likely will not be pitching for the Braves this year, which is a devastating blow, and now they are down yet another pitcher. Hopefully the Braves can gain some stability in the starting rotation and fix the much needed things in the bullpen, and soon.