Coming off a disappointing extra-inning loss Saturday night, an Austin Riley 10th inning single enabled the the Braves to win a Lively game.
Atlanta managed to rally from 3-1 down late and push across the game-winner in the 10th against Cleveland, winning 4-3. Ben Lively lived up to his name, holding the Braves to just one run in 4 1/3 innings. Lively sits around 91 mph, but movement on his pitches made it tough to square him up.
When the Braves did square up the ball, the ball proved to be anything but lively yet again today. Matt Olson finally squared one up, ripping it to left-center at 106+ mph, only to have the die in mid-CF. Riley launched another blast, barreling one 101.4 with a launch angle of 34 degrees. The dead-ball era seems to be back, and I wonder what MLB has done to the balls?
Elder grinds into the sixth
Bryce Elder worked into the sixth inning in his second start, giving up two runs. His ball was fairly lively, as well, often running off the plate and into the dirt as he struggled with command. However, Elder is the consummate grinder. He continued to find a way to get outs, even after taking a bullet off his right foot.
The plays of the game will not be found in the box score. A.J. Minter gave Steven Kwan the old inside move and picked him off second in the top of the 10th. Jose Ramirez followed with a bloop single and tried to steal second. Failing to slide, Travis d’Arnaud‘s peg bounced right into Orlando Arcia‘s glove and up Ramirez’s butt to send the game to the bottom of the inning. Chadwick Tromp got the start today and also threw out a baserunner in what was a lively game. Minter improved to 5-1 with the win and has a 1.32 ERA. His .59 WHIP in 13.2 IP has been a key to his success.
Ozzie Albies continued his good work at the plate, recording two more hits. Riley’s average was down to .223 at one point today, but he went 2-for-4 with the game winner. It feels like he drove in his first run April 2. It hasn’t been that long, but it has been close.
The Braves improved to 19-7 and head west for three games at Seattle before a weekend series next weekend with the team that plays in Chavez Ravine. Max Fried gets the ball tomorrow evening. Fried was Maximum Fried last time out, using 92 pitches in a complete game shutout. He will face 25 year-old righty, Bryce Miller, who is 3-2 with a 2.22 ERA. First pitch is slated for 9:40 EDT/8:40CDT/6:40PDT. If you are tracking with Braves Journal in Jakarta, you’ll have to look up the time yourself. Go Braves!
AJ minter is on pace to be MLB’s first 30 game winner since Denny McLain.
And I’m here for it!
He had such a rough start to the 2023 season, I’m happy for him. Seems like a good guy…and he’s getting people out!
As I said at the end of today’s game thread, we had many unhappy moments last night and much of this afternoon. So perhaps our tiny place here is getting interesting. But with yet another victory, , we are still the kind of boring happy family that JonathanF bemoaned in Friday’s game thread.
But you know, I’ll take it.
Shiny Happy People
What’s even better is both REM and the B-52s are from Georgia.
Every band that’s ever come out of Athens owes a lot to the B-52s, who blazed a trail when none existed.
I’m happy to indulge JonathanF’s request: I am far from pleased with this offense. Over the past eight games, our “hitters” have managed a collective .245/.330/.366, with just 33 runs scored (4.1 per game). We’ve gone 6-2, but that’s involved three extra-inning games and two home walkoffs; it could have just as easily been 4-4 or worse. The starting pitching has picked up an extra gear at just the precise moment that the bats fell asleep, but this is Good Luck. There will be Bad Luck. Right now, it’s like we’re in the June Swoon except we’ve been lucky enough to win some games.
THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
It’s gonna be interesting to see if MLB deadened the ball again, it’s just too improbable to see even the hard hot balls die on the warning track.
With MLB/Manfred’s incompetence, it wouldn’t surprise me if it has happened without them expecting it.
Sometimes I think its just luck / random variation on ball quality. In the statcast era though, it would be very obvious if the balls are now flying 5-10 feet shorter than usual.
I just got around to seeing JonathanF’s recap. Very amusing, as I was just thinking that there’s no realistic reason for anyone to be upset with the team so far. The only player I’m grousing about is Bummer, but its hard to be that upset about a middle-relief arm. If Riley and Olson’s slumps continue for another two weeks, well then it’ll be on.
Riley and Olson both looked okay despite some of the results. RAJ looks frustrated, almost deflated? But I am probably over-analysing.
This was a game that did not feel like we could or should win until the 8th. The morale of this team is one thing that has been carrying them so far this season. Once our three best hitters get going, this is going to be fun. Murphy should be back in May as well. Go Braves!
Pros:
• Defense was largely solid; Arcia continues to show off his range and athleticism at SS, and Olson made a nice pick on a grounder that resulted in the 3-6-1 double play in the 2nd
• Acuna, Olson, and Riley all hit barrels in this game; Ronald also timed up a fastball in his AB in the 8th, so hopefully he’s getting close
• Minter’s been fantastic; hitters have a .160 xBA and .198 xwOBA against him this year
Cons:
• Elder wasn’t sharp, despite only allowing two runs (2/4 K/BB, only 5 whiffs total)
Was listening to Cleveland’s radio guy Tom Hamilton on Friday night. The Guardians were leading 1-0 in the middle innings when he said: “Obviously, a 1-0 lead is nothing to this Atlanta team. They’re like the ’90s Indians in that they never seem to get flustered. Eventually, they’ll string together enough good at-bats to get back into the game or take the lead. They know they’re going to win, and they just go out and do it.”
And that’s exactly what happened.
Check this out. Looks like Manfred is up to some tricks again.
https://x.com/Sam_Nylen/status/1784955649195176225
I remember seeing someone say something about a potential dead ball earlier in the season. Not surprising.
Well. OK then. Who should we prioritize signing in the offseason – Minter or Fried?