Diehard Braves fans will not forget Memorial Day 2023 for a long time. It was on this night that Michael Soroka defied all odds and returned to the mound after three surgeries and 1,029 days of rehab work. Though things got away from Soroka just a little in the bottom of the fourth, his return to the Show was scintillating from my perspective. The fact that he even made it back is amazing, add in he threw 6 innings in 83 pitches is a precursor of good things to come.
Oakland won the game, 7-2.
While the Braves lost to the lowly A’s, Soroka gave the Braves and all his fans reason to hope that great things are in front of the big right-hander. The movement on his sinker and change-up was electric, he missed bats with his 96 mph four-seamer, and was able to work out of a third inning jam by throwing a double play ball to end the inning. He left two pitches up in that fateful fifth inning and Ryan Noda, the first strikeout of the night for Soroka, dropped the barrel of the bat on a change-up down in the zone to give the A’s a 4-1 lead at the time.
Major League Baseball didn’t do the Braves any favors scheduling a 5 p.m. Pacific game the night after playing the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game in Atlanta. The Braves arrived at their hotel at 3:00 a.m. local time and didn’t do much offensively in this one. Michael Harris II ripped one 113.9 off the bat into the right fielder’s glove, Ronald Acuna Jr. laced another ball 115.9 into the left fielder’s glove, and the Braves managed just six hits. The lone scoring for the Braves came on a 75.9 mph seeing-eye single in the top of the first by Sean Murphy, and a 413-foot blast by Matt Olson in the top of the eighth, his third home run in two nights. Austin Riley had two hits.
Sure, it’s not great losing to a team on pace to win 29 or 30 games for the season, and we still obviously have bullpen issues, but there are lots of reasons to have hope with Soroka’s start tonight. Atlanta will throw the NL’s ERA leader, Bryce Elder, tomorrow evening against left-handed starter, JP Sears (0-3, 4.70). Hopefully, Elder and the Braves offense vs. a lefty will even the series at a game apiece.
Nice recap, Christian. As you said, I will remember Soroka’s triumphant return for a long, long time.
I do think we need to mention Snitker’s bullpen management last night. I still have zero idea why he inserted Lucas Luetge into a 4-2 game in the bottom of the 8th. He ended up facing a bunch of RHH; why wouldn’t you use a RHP like Nick Anderson in that spot? Besides, Luetge is NOT a high leverage guy. He should only be pitching in the middle innings or in blowouts.
Snitker’s decisions are just baffling sometimes.
Snit is consistent, in that he rarely if ever uses his top relievers when the team is trailing, especially by more than one run. It’s frustrating because the leverage can be higher down two than up three, but like most managers he’s risk averse. Losing when you were already behind is not as bad, it seems, as blowing a lead.
I don’t disagree, StephenW, using Luetge there is a bit head-scratching, but if I’m Snit it’s a bit of a crap shoot to think anybody in that bullpen can get outs right now. I saw somewhere on Twitter this morning in his last two appearances, Luetge’s line looks like this: 1 IP, 6H, 5 ER, 2BB, 1K, 1 HBP – on 72 PITCHES! That’s not a misprint…72 pitches. Lord, have mercy…
Oof. That is brutal.
Great job, Christian. Soroka may or not become the dominant guy he was in 2019, but he certainly showed that he’s capable of being a more than effective starter. I’m just thrilled for the guy—I admire him as much as any young pitcher I can remember.
Word, Tfloyd. I’m thrilled for the guy, too! He’s a high-character guy who has endured more than we often think people should have to endure, and he did it with integrity and grit! I hope he can build on this start and that most of Braves Twitter doesn’t lose its mind in what was a serious trap game for the Braves last night.
It was date night for me so I didn’t get to catch Soroka until he gave up the home run. I did go back this AM and watch a good bit of his pitches. Looked strong until he didn’t.
I’ve been saying for a year that any MLB appearance by Soroka are gravy, so I’ll stand by that. Like Liam Hendricks, his performance last night wasn’t awe-inspiring in isolation, but in the context of their careers, it was a fantastic feel-good day for baseball. I won’t even care about the loss or bullpen use on this. I’m just so happy for Michael.
Amen to that.
And, I agree regarding Luetge. At this point, his presence on the roster is on AA. Snit can’t afford to have a guy on the roster solely as a benchwarmer. If he is unplayable, it’s on AA to fix that. If he’s on the roster, he has to play.
Agreed, Kenn and Alex. AA constructed the bullpen, AA will have to reconstruct the bullpen at some point. Yes, pitchers have to actually pitch to both metrics and potential, but we need the best executive in baseball to pull off a move or two to shore things up.
Right on, Kenn.
AJ Smith-Shawver promoted to ATL
A.J. Smith-Shawver called up to the ATL. Twenty years old!
Peripherals across all levels check out…
Interested to see how he does.
Holy cow. He had just gotten promoted to AAA, and even that was on the fast track. I guess he’ll be in the pen for now? Though I’d say only 3 rotation spots are written in ink right now.
I thought AJSS might get the call later this year, but not this soon. Wow. Guess they think he can help out the bullpen.
Luetge was DFAed unsurprisingly.
That news is stunning. I’m assuming he’ll be in the pen, as Strider was to begin last year. If he’s dominant, he’ll be starting soon enough. Remember Fried spent some time in the pen before becoming a full time starter. IIRC, our own Alex has recommended that path for young phenoms as a way to get used to the big leagues.
But what do I know—they may slot him into the rotation from the start.