Tag: Grand Slams

My Takeaways From Braves vs Rockies Series:

A sweep! This was Atlanta’s first sweep of the season, and boy did the Braves need it! Not only did this series give them their first sweep, it allowed them to have a five game win streak (the Braves won their last game in Arizona before heading to Colorado), and the Atlanta Braves now have an over .500 record of 28-27. This series has proven that the Braves are capable of being the good, strong team we know them to be. Hopefully, it will prove to be a good turnaround to get them going in the right direction.

MY TAKEAWAYS:

  • IMPROVEMENT IN THE ROTATION AND BULLPEN

All of the Atlanta starters in this series pitched very well. Max Fried especially had an outstanding performance. He pitched eight scoreless innings, allowed only two hits, one walk, he had four strikeouts, and ended his night with 102 pitches. Fried never seemed like he was uncomfortable on the mound and he showed much dominance throughout his performance.

The Braves bullpen has been questionable, to say the least, throughout the start of the season. However, in this series they were quite good. The Atlanta Braves won two games in extra innings… TWO! One of those games was scoreless until they scored in the 10th inning. And in another one of the games, the Braves didn’t capture the lead until the 11th inning. With Matzek on the IL, it was a known fact that people were going to have to start stepping up in the bullpen…and they have finally started to come through! Although he still has a flare for the dramatic, Will Smith has pitched pretty well, and Kenley Jansen is showing he can be that super-star closer that he was with the Dodgers.

  • CONSISTENCY IN THE LINEUP

At the start of the season, the Braves had a hard time getting runners on base. And when they got runners on base, they had an even harder time scoring them. It also seemed that they relied on a couple guys in the lineup to get on base, score, etc. However, all that has started to change. 1-9 in the Braves lineup came through in this series. Every player contributed in one way or another. They took their walks when they needed to, moved runners over, scored multiple times throughout an inning, and scored in multiple innings.

It was also nice to see Travis d’Arnaud and Adam Duvall get some good hits. Travis hit two home runs in the first game of the series, one of which was a Grand Slam!! He also continued to get hits of any kind. Duvall hit a home run in this series but he also had some doubles, singles, and a triple! It was nice to see Adam Duvall reduce his amount of strikeouts over these four games. Yes, everyone is bound to strike out, but he seemed to do it an awful lot. But in this series he showed much improvement in his pitch selection and how deep he allowed his counts.

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The Atlanta Braves are currently 8.5 games behind the first place Mets, but with how the Braves have been playing lately, hopefully they will move closer in the standings and continue to win ball games at their full capacity.

GO BRAVES!

Braves vs. Phillies Series Wrap

This series for the Atlanta Braves – against their division rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies – was the start of the most crucial road trip of the season. At the end of the road trip, Atlanta will have played nine games in eight days: four against the Phillies and five against the New York Mets. So all of those games are within the Braves’ division, and I believe this series will make or break the Braves. If they don’t win at least one of the series, they will continue to get further and further back in the standing and have a much harder time at trying win the NL East, let alone trying to make it into the postseason.

Game One: Charlie Morton vs. Matt Moore, Braves won 7-2

This game was a great way for the Atlanta Braves to start this crucial series! Everything seemed to fire right on all cylinders.

Charlie Morton pitched very well. He went six innings, allowed four hits, two runs, four walks, and he had eight strikeouts. His command was good, he never really got into any trouble, and, for the most part, he was able to have control of the strike zone. His solid start from the mound was a key part of Atlanta’s win.

To start off the scoring for the Braves, Freddie Freeman had an RBI single that scored my man, Ozzie Albies, who reached base on a double in the previous at-bat.

Atlanta added onto their lead in the third inning. To start the inning, Charlie Morton struck out, and Joc Pederson grounded out to first. So with two outs, Ozzie and Freddie both had first pitch singles to keep the inning alive. Austin Riley then walked to load the bases. With two outs and the bases loaded, Dansby Swanson was up to bat. On the second pitch he saw, Swanson hit a GRAND SLAM to make it a 4-0 game – all Atlanta! That grand slam was the FIRST of Dansby Swanson’s career, and it was a good one!

The Braves scored yet another run in the top of the fourth when Orlando Arcia hit a solo home run. He knew it was gone right off the bat, and it went a long way!

Philadelphia scored two in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t add on anymore runs. And, to score their final run, Austin Riley had a bases loaded walk in the top of the ninth to score Pablo Sandoval who reached base on a walk to start the ninth inning.

Game Two: Max Fried vs. Zack Wheeler, Braves lost 5-1

Lack of offense pretty much wraps up why the Braves didn’t win this game. Their pitching was good, but they gave up too many runs that Atlanta’s offense couldn’t make up for. We’ve seen it so much this season: they win one game and lose the next one (or two), over and over again.

Max Fried gave the Braves a pretty solid outing. He went five innings, allowed six hits, four runs, four walks, and he had six strikeouts. Fried hung a couple pitches and made a few mistakes, which the Phillis’ bats were all over.

The Braves scored their one and only run in the top of the third inning when Freddie Freeman had an RBI single to score Ozzie Albies, who had reached base on a double in the previous at-bat. That made it a 1-1 game. (The Phillies scored in the bottom of the first on a solo home run by J.T. Realmuto.

The Philadelphia Phillies scored four more times throughout the rest of the game, to make the final score 5-1, Philadelphia.

The Braves had a hard time producing offense in this game, but it was nice to see their bullpen only allow one run over four innings of relief. Atlanta’s bullpen seems to be getting better slowly but surely, and it’s nice to see them not blow a game every outing.

Game Three: Drew Smyly vs. Vince Velasquez, Braves won 15-3

Well, if you can’t tell by the score, this was an all-around good win for the Atlanta Braves. Their starting and relief pitching was very good, offense was through the roof, and defensively they did well!

Drew Smyly only went four innings, he left the game due to pain in his left knee. In those four innings he allowed three hits, zero runs, three walks, and he had three strikeouts. It would’ve been nice to have seen Smyly get the win, but obviously his health comes first, which is ultimately why he was taken out.

The Braves started off their scoring in the top of the first inning, when Freddie Freeman hit a two run home run to give them an early 2-0 lead. Abraham Almonte added onto their lead in the top of the second when he hit a solo home run, making it 3-0 Atlanta.

In the top of the third inning, Atlanta once again added onto their lead. Ozzie Albies started the inning with a ground out, and then Freeman followed him with a single. His single was followed by a walk to red-hot Austin Riley. Dansby Swanson had an RBI double that allowed Freddie to score, and advanced Riley to third, making it 4-0. Almonte had another hit – this time it was a two-RBI single that scored both Riley and Swanson, extending Atlanta’s lead to 6-0.

The Braves once again added onto their lead in the top of the sixth inning, on an RBI single by Joc Pederson that scored Guillermo Heredia, making it 7-0.

Philadelphia scored one run in the bottom of the sixth inning on an RBI double by Rhys Hoskins to make it a 7-1 game, Braves still on top.

As if they hadn’t scored enough runs already, the Atlanta Braves decided to add on some more! To start off the eighth inning, Guillermo Heredia reached base on a fielding error. Pablo Sandoval struck out to make the first out. Joc Pederson followed his strikeout with a single, and then my man Ozzie Albies, hit a gigantic three-run bomb making it 10-1 Atlanta. After Ozzie’s monstrous homer, Freeman walked and then Austin Riley hit a two-run shot, making it 12-1 Braves. WOW!

Philly got two more in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI fielder’s choice and a sac fly, to make it 12-3.

And then, to add the final blow for Atlanta, Joc Pederson ended his fantastic night at the plate with a three-run home run, making the final score 15-3 Atlanta. Way to go, Braves!

Game Four: Touki Toussaint vs. Aaron Nola, Braves lost 2-1

Touki Toussaint pitched extremely well for the Braves. He went seven innings, allowed five hits, one run, ZERO walks, and he had ten strikeouts… TEN! Not to mention he pitched a career high in innings-pitched. One slip-up cost Touki the game… but even though he got the loss, he pitched very well and should be proud. It is so nice to have Touki back in the lineup!

That one run Toussaint allowed came in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jean Segura hit a solo home run to make it 1-0 Phillies. They added onto that lead four innings later. In the bottom of the eighth inning, their second baseman Ronald Torreyes hit a solo home run to make it 2-0 Philadelphia.

The Braves scored their one and only run in the top of the ninth inning. It came on a two out, two-strike home run from Austin Riley to get Atlanta on the board, making it 2-1.

Atlanta didn’t have much luck against Aaron Nola, but at least they were able to score one off of him. But, again, here is where we see the struggles of Atlanta. They go from winning a game 15-3, and the next game they can’t produce any offense. This is yet another area where the Braves need to step it up if they have any hopes of making it to the playoffs.

Braves vs. Pirates Series Wrap

What a series! The Braves may not have swept the Pirates, but they definitely broke out offensively and were able to score multiple runs an inning, all through the lineup. Starting pitching also continued to go well for the Braves, and in the last three games of the series, the bullpen was much better than we’ve seen.

Game One: Drew Smyly vs. Wil Crowe, Braves lost 6-4

Drew Smyly’s start for the Braves started out looking like it was going to be a rough one, but he turned that around and pitched a good quality six innings for the Braves. He allowed six hits, three runs, only one walk, and he had seven strikeouts. Although the three runs he gave up were all via home run, it was nice to see Smyly be able to hold the score for the Pirates at 3 and give his team a chance to come back.

The Braves tried hard for the comeback! In the bottom of the second inning, William Contreras hit a three run homer to left field, giving the Braves the lead at 3-2. Then, in the bottom of the sixth inning, (after the Pitsburg Pirates scored their third run) Dansby Swanson hit a two run bomb to left field, making it 4-3 Braves.

Sean Newcomb started the seventh inning for the Braves. He got two outs in his appearance, but he also surrendered the lead and made it a tied ballgame. The game remained tied and went into extra innings.

Jacob Webb came on to pitch the top of the tenth inning. This was his first appearance on the mound for the Atlanta Braves since he hit Mets’ player Kevin Pillar in the face on May 17. You could tell that Webb was still uncomfortable on the mound, and he did not pitch inside to the Pirates players at all. He left everything over the plate and the Pirates didn’t miss a pitch. Webb gave up a lead off single and then an RBI single to Kevin Newman to make it 5-4 Pirates on top. He then got a forceout that advanced Newman to third, and then Grant Dayton came on in relief of Webb. He gave up a sac fly to make it 6-4 Pirates.

The Braves had no luck in the bottom of the ninth inning to make a comeback.

Game Two: Ian Anderson vs. Tyler Anderson, Braves won 20-1

Hehe. This was certainly a super fun game to watch. I mean, it’s not every day the Braves score 20 runs in a game, right?! The Braves scored early in this game, and didn’t stop scoring until it was over.

Ian Anderson did a fantastic job pitching for the Braves in this game. He went six innings, allowed six hits, gave up zero runs, and ZERO walks. Not to mention he also had six strikeouts. It was nice to see Anderson be able to have command over his ball-to-strike ratio and not give up any walks. That is a huge component to have from your starting pitcher. Free baserunners pretty much always come around and score, and those hurt your team the worst. But Anderson didn’t not pitch himself into any trouble and had a great outing.

In the bottom of the first inning, Ozzie Albies had an RBI double, his thirteenth of the season, which scored Ronald Acuña Jr. and gave the Braves a 1-0 lead. After my man Ozzie got the scoring started, the Braves they were on fire offensively!

In the bottom of the second inning, Dansby Swanson led off with a double, followed by a walk to Kevan Smith, who was making his Atlanta Braves’ debut as catcher. That walk was followed by a single to Guillermo Heredia to load the bases. After Ian Anderson struck out, Ronald Acuña Jr was in the batter’s box for the Braves. After working a full count, Acuña got a pitch off the plate and drove it into the seats of the Chop House for a grand slam. The Braves extended their lead to 5-0. Acuña once again added onto the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning with a sac fly that scored Guillermo Heredia making it 6-0, all Braves.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Ozuna led off with a four pitch walk. Ozzie Albies was up to bat, and after working a 2-1 count, Ozzie hit a home run to left center field making it 8-0 Braves. Yay! After Ozzie had gotten his Panda hug in the dugout, Austin Riley sent a bomb out of the ballpark for a solo home run making it 9-0. That was just the second time the Atlanta Braves had gone back-to-back with home runs all season.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Braves hit yet another home run. This one was by Marcell Ozuna. He hit it to left field and extended the lead to 10-0, all Braves. The very next inning, the Braves once again added on. Austin Riley hit another home run and then following his homer, Dansby Swanson hit one out of the park. That made it 12-0 Braves and the third time the Braves had hit back-to-back homers this season… the second of that night!

As if the Braves hadn’t scored enough… they added on big time to their already huge lead in the bottom of the eighth. Freddie Freeman led the inning off with a walk. Ozuna followed his walk with a double, and then Ozzie had a walk. The bases were loaded with no one out. Riley had a sac fly to score Freeman and make it 13-0. Swanson came up to bat and he had a walk. Then the Braves catcher Kevan Smith, had an RBI single that score Ozuna, making it 14-0. The Braves still had the bases loaded. Heredia was up to bat next and he had another RBI single making it 15-0 Braves. The Braves played their other baserunner station to station, so they still had the bases loaded with one out.

Ehire Adrianza came on to pinch-hit for Josh Tomlin, who pitched two scoreless innings for the Braves in relief of Anderson. On the FIRST PITCH he saw Adrianza hit a GRAND SLAM into the Chop House making it 19-0 Braves. Following the grand slam, Acuña struck out then Freeman had a double and Ozuna scored him with another double making it 20-0 Braves. Wow!

It would’ve been amazing for the Braves to have shut out the Pirates 20-0. Jacob Webb pitched the ninth inning for the Braves. He was still looking for a bounce-back start after hitting Kevin Pillar of the Mets in the face on May 17. He got the first guy out with no problem, but then Webb allowed a walk to Erik Gonzalez. It was the only walk a Braves pitcher gave to the Pirates in the entire game. It would’ve been so great to see the Braves pitching staff go an entire game without giving up a walk, but that wasn’t meant to be. After the walk, Webb gave up a single to Ben Gamel. Gonzalez advanced to third base on a throwing error by Webb. He then got a strikeout of Cole Tucker, and then gave up a RBI single to Will Craig making the score 20-1. Webb got the final out of the inning without giving up anymore runs. The one run that the Pirates score was the walk that Jacob Webb gave up… walks always come back to haunt a pitcher.

Following that bullpen appearance, Jacob Webb was sent down to Triple-A Gwinnett. I think that was a smart move for the Braves to make, and I personally thing that the Atlanta Braves coaching staff should have made that move a long time ago.

Game Three: Bryse Wilson vs. Mitch Keller, Braves won 6-1

Most of the time after a team has a blow out game, they don’t always score a lot of runs or win the next game. The Braves however took the momentum of the night before and carried it into this game.

Bryse Wilson pitched very well for the Braves. He went 6.2 innings allowing only five hits, one run, two walks, and he struck out four Pittsburgh batters. Wilson never really struggled in this outing. He had a few baserunners scattered here and there and gave up a solo home run to Michael Perez in the top of the third, but that was it.

The Braves started the scoring early. In the Bottom of the first inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. led the game off with a first pitch solo home run giving the Braves a 1-0 lead. It’s impressive to see Acuña be able to hit a homer on the first pitch, especially with how far he can hit them! The Braves added onto their lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Austin Riley that scored Freddie Freeman and made it 2-0 Braves. In the bottom of the third inning, Freeman had an RBI single that scored Ender Inciarte, making it 3-0 Braves still on top.

Braves were up 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Freeman led off the inning with a four-pitch walk. Marcell Ozuna followed him with a flyout, and that brought Ozzie Albies up to the plate. (He was hitting from the left side.) On the first pitch he saw, he hit a BOMB into the seats in right center field for a two-run homer making it 5-1 Braves. And then, as if one home run wasn’t enough, Ozzie hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning from the right side of the plate, making it 6-1 Braves.

Ozzie may be little, but he has gigantic power! He really showed that with those two home runs. He definitely powered the Braves, along with good pitching, into another Braves win against the Pirates.

Game Four: Max Fried vs. JT Brubaker, Braves won 7-1

Max Fried got off to a shaky start for the Braves but settled down and pitched a great game. He went seven innings allowing only four hits, one run, three walks, and had two strikeouts.

The one run that Fried gave up was on an RBI double by Bryan Reynolds. That gave them a 1-0 lead, but Max was able to stop the Pirates there and give his Braves a chance to score.

The Atlanta Braves offense did just that. Acuña grounded out, and Freeman struck out to start off the inning. The Braves now had two outs, Ozuna had a single to keep the Braves alive in the inning. Ozzie followed Ozuna with an in-field single. Austin Riley came up to bat and he turned the game around for Atlanta with a three run home run. Whew! This kid’s got some home run power.

Austin Riley added onto the Braves lead in the bottom of the third with another home run! This one was a two-run shot, making it 5-1 Braves. The Braves scored one more time in the bottom of the sixth inning on a two-run home run by Dansby Swanson, making it 7-1 Braves. That was the final score of the game.

One fun fact about all three home runs in game four of the series was that Ozzie was on base for all of them! He had a single in the first, was hit by a pitch in the third, and had another single in the bottom of the sixth. Albies really started to come to life in this series, and I’m sure it has made him and the coaching staff happy. It’s made me happy for sure!

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.

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.