Chris Sale worked into the sixth inning and the Braves were able to sweep the leg of the nasty Serpientes Sunday afternoon.
Atlanta had to rally from first inning deficits in the first two games of this series with the Arizona Diamondbacks. On Sunday, however, Jeff Francoeur‘s “Ford Keys” included zeroes from Sale and to sweep the leg. Sale literally posted zeroes and the Braves metaphorically swept the leg of the Diamondbacks in completing the three game sweep, 5-2.
Spencer Strider surrendered three first inning runs in his UCL start Friday. Max Fried allowed six first inning runs on Saturday in his killing his free agent contract start. To say the Braves needed a solid outing from Sale is an understatement.
He delivered in a big way. The 35 year-old lefty was nasty again Sunday. He struck out six, walked none, and allowed four hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings. Unfortunately for Sale, the pesky Serpientes fouled off 27 pitches to run up his pitch count. His outing was cut a bit short, but he was very effective.
Long-ball provides necessary support
Matt Olson opened the scoring in the bottom of the second with a solo shot into the Chop House, his third HR of the young season. The Braves then loaded the bases and Chadwick Tromp hit a sacrifice fly to score the Big Bear from third. Marcell Ozuna‘s smile after belly-flopping into home was a sight for sore eyes.
Arizona tied the score at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, only to fall behind in the bottom half of the frame. Michael Harris II hit an 84.5 mph chase 104.1 mph into the bleachers, giving the Braves the lead for good. Austin Riley added some insurance in the bottom of the eighth, belting a 446 ft HR to left-centerfield.
One thing that could be lost in the shuffle is the performance of the Atlanta bullpen. The Braves’ ‘pen worked another 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. Joe Jimenez worked a perfect 1.2 innings. Tyler Matzek walked one in his inning of work. And Pierce Johnson allowed one hit in picking up his first save of the season.
Johnson out-luked former Brave, Luke Jackson, dazzling with that breaking ball that has made him great since coming to Atlanta. AA and the front office won big-time when they acquired Johnson and then made re-signing him a priority in the off-season.
Fresh off the sweep, the Braves host the Mets in a three-game series beginning this evening. Let’s hope the Mets keep “metting,” and the Braves keep hitting. Charlie Morton squares off against old friend, Julio Teheran, at 7:20 ET/6:20 CT.
Question for the Group: Is Ozzie’s defense as big of a concern as it is in my head or am I overreacting?
I am very concerned, more about the arm than the lateral range
The arm is weak (much weaker than it used to be), but you can live with that in a second baseman. The lateral range is a bigger deal, but I’m more skeptical of the stats on that. There is an awful lot of variation year to year. Assuming his legs are healthy, it’s hard for me to imagine that someone as athletic as Ozzie would be in the very bottom of all second sackers in range.
He’s bad, but as you may recall, I’m not that worried about fielding anyway. Particularly not over the full season. The arm should be fine for second base. I say meh.
If this continues, it could become an issue if we’re playing in a game that actually matters a lot in and of itself, because Snit is not likely to consider putting in a defensive replacement. But until we get there, I’m not especially worried.
Honestly, it could be part of him trying to lock in a routine without Ron Washington there, meaning it could improve as he figures out what he’s doing.
In fairness to Ozzie, that throw by Max was trash. Hit him in the chest and get out of the inning. Yes, Ozzie’s arm seems weaker than it once way, but the E attributed to him Sunday could easily have been on Max, in my opinion.
It’s not just you. As he has gotten older he has lost some range. And I think the abolition of the shift has highlighted his lack of range. At some point in the next couple of seasons as he gets into his 30s we may start talk about him moving to the outfield.
Not as worried about the arm as a second baseman.
Pros:
– Sale was fantastic again; he currently has a 92nd percentile chase rate and a 29.4 K% on the season
– The bullpen was phenomenal — 13.1 scoreless innings in this series
– Jimenez in particular has been getting tons of whiffs and is averaging 7 feet of extension
– Three homers; Riley’s provided some needed insurance
Cons:
– Ronnie’s got a 35.1 K% at the moment and is swinging through some crushable pitches, but he did have a shortened Spring Training; perhaps he’ll settle in as he gets more ABs
JC’d:
Chris Sale has pitched two games for us and looks an awful lot like Alex Anthopoulos went out and got us Chris Sale. And trading Kyle Wright for Jarred Kelenic (with Jackson Kowar as the barter currency in the middle) might prove to be one of the best of his career, up there with trading Brett Lawrie for Josh Donaldson more than a decade ago in Toronto.
Sale and Kelenic were obviously the two key offseason acquisitions and there’s a whole lot of season left to go. Kelenic in particular had an incredible start to the season last year and then scuffled so badly that the Mariners basically gave up on him, so the Braves will need to do everything they can to help him stay on an even keel. But so far, I’d say that they’re validating AA’s offseason strategy – the strategy that said that those two guys could be the main course of hot stove season, not just the appetizer.
I’d still love them to extend Fried, of course, but otherwise, I’m a pretty happy camper.
Makes it easier to win games when Austin hits it to the moon, too. Good Lord.